


Saving Sergeant Barnes

by watcherofworlds



Series: The Saving Trilogy [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-02
Updated: 2016-08-04
Packaged: 2018-07-28 19:33:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 23,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7653973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watcherofworlds/pseuds/watcherofworlds
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cassandra Flynn has a pretty good thing going- she's a psychologist working as a consultant for SHIELD, helping them to break HYDRA's hold  on their recaptured brainwashed agents. It's a hard job, but it pays well, and after all, money makes the world go round, right? Cassandra, or Cassie as she prefers to be called,is sure that this is as far as it will go- difficult, but not too difficult- at least until the day she receives a phone call and her hardest assignment yet- helping Captain America's traumatized friend, Bucky Barnes, regain his stolen memories and recover from the tortures HYDRA has subjected him to over the years. His mind is so damaged, so traumatized, that she's not sure she can do anything to help him, but she knows she has to try. After all, Captain America is counting on her, and who is she to let him down?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story has been getting a lot of reads on Wattpad, so I thought I'd share it with you wonderful people as well. Comments are welcome and appreciated. Let me know what you think.

Cassie stood in front of her stove, making breakfast. To her right, her dishwasher sat yawing open like a hungry mouth,a reminder to herself to run it. Breakfast cooked, she sat down at her table and was just about to take a bite when her phone rang. She sighed and dropped her fork onto her plate with a _clang_.

"This is Flynn," she answered.

"We need you to come in," said the no-nonsense voice on the other end. Cassie didn't recognize it, but that was hardly surprising. She was never contacted by the same person twice.

"Why?" she asked. "Did Agent 31 relapse?"

"No. She's progressing exactly as you predicted, actually."

"Then why-" Cassie started to ask, then it dawned on her. "You want me to talk to Captain Rogers."

"You read my mind" the person's tone of voice told her that they were smiling. "You really are a psychic."

"I'm not a _psychic_ I'm a _psychologist_ ," Cassie protested "There's- you know what? Never mind. What exactly do you want me to tell him?"

"You just need to... explain things."

"What things?"

"You know, psychological things."

"So you're saying you want me to talk to him about Sergeant Barnes."

"Yes."

"You do know I can't help his friend until he finds him, right?"

"Yes, what's your point?"

"I don't know, it just seems rather rude to basically tell him to hurry up and find his friend considering the amount of effort he's probably already put into doing just that."

"We don't pay you to be polite, we pay you to clean up HYDRA's mess." The voice was angry now.

"I thought that was your job," Cassie retorted.

"When it comes to the mind of our agents,it's yours."

"But Sergeant Barnes was never an agent of SHIELD-"

"He was a Howling Commando. That's close enough," the voice interrupted smoothly. Cassie sighed.

"Fine," she said. "What time do you want me to be there?"

"10:45, and try not to be late. The captain doesn't like to be kept waiting."

"He's waited sixty-nine years. I'm sure he could stand waiting a little bit longer," Cassie muttered, but the person on the other end had already hung up.


	2. Chapter 2

Steve's phone rang. He lifted the needle off the record he was listening to, filling his apartment with silence.  He glanced at the three little holes in his wall and sighed. Lost in thought, he allowed his phone to ring at least three more times before he remembered to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Captain Rogers?" A woman's voice, with a crisp English accent. It reminded him suddenly and painfully of Peggy.

"Yes," he replied.

"Oh good," said the person on the other end, clearly relieved. "I had the right number then."

"Yes," Steve said tiredly. "What is it that you want?"

"We need you to come with us," the woman on the phone said.

"Come with who? And where?"

"I can't explain over the phone. You never know who might be listening. I promise I'll fill you in on everything when you arrive. There's a car waiting for you at the curb."

With those words, she hung up. Steve walked to the window and looked out. Sure enough, there was a sleek black SUV idling in the pool of yellow light under a street lamp. Steve sighed. He grabbed his shield and headed to the curb. Once there, he yanked open the back door of the SUV, tossed his shield in and swung himself in after it, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Great," the driver grumbled. Like the woman on the phone earlier, he had an English accent, although his was stronger and considerably rougher. "Here I am, a highly trained field agent, stuck playing chauffeur for Cap and his high-tech Frisbee."

"Oh quit whining Hunter," the brunette in the passenger seat said. "You should be honored."

"Honored. Right," Hunter muttered.

"Don't mind Hunter," the brunette said, turning to Steve. "He's a nice guy really, just a bit of a complainer."

Hunter looked like he wanted to protest, but he said nothing- at least nothing audible. Instead he muttered under his breath, glaring in the rearview mirror, and stomped on the accelerator. They shot off at a speed Steve was sure wasn't legal. He stared out the window, his forehead resting against the cold glass, and watched the streets pass by in a blur. Eventually they came to a stop in front of the entrance to a bunker like building, the entrance being the only part of it that was visible above the ground. Hunter rolled down his window and flashed some kind of badge at the camera watching them nearby, and the door slowly slid open. Hunter pulled forward into some kind of hangar, with a ramp up into the compound itself. There was a woman standing at the top of the ramp.

"Looks like this is your stop," the brunette said. "See you later."

"Where are you going?" Steve asked as he got out of the car.

"To do, you know, top secret stuff," Hunter said gruffly. The brunette looked at Steve through the passenger seat window and mouthed _Play Call of Duty._ Steve restrained a smile. He expected the car to turn around and pull back out, but instead Hunter and the brunette got out of the car as well and went past him up the ramp.

"Don't you guys have somewhere to be?" he asked.

"Not at the moment, no," the brunette shot back. "Besides, we live here."

Steve frowned. Curiouser and curiouser. He walked up to the top of the ramp where the woman was waiting.

"Good morning Captain Rogers," she said, offering a hand for him to shake. "I'm  Agent Simmons. We spoke on the phone earlier."

"Agent?" Steve asked, shaking her hand. "I thought SHIELD was destroyed."

"Oh, it was," Simmons agreed. "But we are currently in the process of rebuilding it."

"If that's why you brought me here, to recruit me for the new SHIELD, then you can forget it," Steve growled, his voice steadily rising. "I took it down for a reason, and I'm really not happy that you people ignored my warnings." Simmons took a step back, her hands raised in a placating gesture.

"Oh no, of course not," she said hastily. "There's someone we want you to meet. Follow me."

She turned and started walking away. Steve followed after her, still fuming. In the back of his mind, he puzzled over how the compound even existed, since he could have sworn all of SHIELD's old bases had been taken over by HYDRA. Then they passed a door with a stylized eagle painted on it- not SHIELD's, but one he recognized all the same.

"This is an SSR base," he said, awestruck. He couldn't tell because her back was turned, but he thought Simmons might have smiled.

It _was_ an SSR base," she corrected. "It is currently SHIELD's only permanent base of operations."

"This brings back some memories," Steve said with a tone that implied he was lost in them.

"Good ones or bad ones?" Simmons asked. Steve grimaced.

"A little of both," he said. Simmons nodded.

"We have a ton of old SSR files in here," she told him. "I think we even have your Project Rebirth file here somewhere."

"Really?"

"Yes. However, we didn't bring you here for the nostalgic value... Ah, here we are," Simmons said, stopping in front of yet another door with the SSR's eagle painted on it. There was music coming out from underneath it- something classical sounding and mournful, heavy on cellos and violins. Simmons knocked politely. When no one answered, she eased the door open and slipped inside. Steve followed after her. The room he entered was bare except for two office chairs and a large wooden desk. A young woman dressed in black leggings and an oversized purple hooded sweatshirt sat behind the desk, her combat-booted feet propped up on it, writing something in a notebook, her head bobbing to the music. Simmons cleared her throat. The young woman looked up, startled.

"Oh!" she cried. "Oh my goodness! You're early! I wasn't...I'm so sorry! Give me about ten seconds to collect myself! I'm sorry! I totally wasn't paying attention!"

She reached over to a speaker and hit a button on it, stopping the music. The she tossed her notebook inside a drawer and slammed it shut. Simmons restrained a smile. Even Steve had to struggle not to laugh. The young woman swung her feet off the desk, running out from behind it and skidding to a breathless halt in front of Steve and Simmons.

"Captain Rogers!" she exclaimed, shaking Steve's hand vigorously. "I'm so sorry! I wasn't expecting you until quarter to eleven! You must think me terribly absentminded!" Steve didn't bother restraining his laughter this time.

"Don't worry about it," he said with a chuckle. "I wouldn't be here so early if Hunter hadn't decided to drive like a madman."

"Yeah," she replied with a relieved laugh. "Somebody needs to introduce him to a little thing called brakes." Steve laughed. Simmons cracked a smile.

"I'll leave you two to get acquainted," she said, backing out of the door.

"Thanks Simmons," the young woman called after her.

"Please, sit," she said, indicating one of the office chairs. Steve sat. She resumed her place behind the desk.

"Now, where to start?" she asked.

"The beginning would be nice," Steve replied. She sighed heavily.

"The beginning. Right," she muttered. "Well, first off, my name is Cassandra Flynn. I work as a consultant for SHIELD. Or what's left of it anyway." Steve winced.

"Yeah, sorry about that," he said. Cassandra shrugged.

"Don't be," she told him. "You did what you had to do. And they didn't hire me until after the Helicarriers crashed anyway.

"What exactly does SHIELD consult you for?" Steve asked, eager to change the subject. Cassandra tapped her forehead.

"Issues of the mind," she said. "I'm a psychologist. I specialize in understanding and treating different kinds of mental trauma. As you can imagine, SHIELD has a lot of need for that right now."

"Why?" Steve asked, although he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.

"Well, as I'm sure you know, HYDRA has brainwashed a lot of SHIELD's agents over the years, which didn't really become a problem until they decided to rear its ugly tentacled head." Steve's mouth twisted into a wry smile at the jab at HYDRA's logo, a skull with squid tentacles.

"Anyway, " Cassandra continued. "Whenever they manage to recapture a brainwashed agent, they call me in. At that point, it's up to me to figure out how best to break HYDRA's hold on them."

"And how do you do that?"

"I've found that a particularly strong memory from their time fighting on our side usually works best, which brings me to my next point- why you are here."

"And why am I here?"

"Because of Sergeant Barnes." Cassandra shot Steve a look that clearly said _Well Duh!_ Steve frowned.

"Bucky's not under HYDRA's control anymore," he protested. "What's the real reason I'm here?"

"I'm aware of the fact he's no longer brainwashed," Cassandra said, exasperated. "But you know as well as I do that brainwashing is by no means his only issue. Stop being so paranoid. Not everyone has an ulterior motive, you know."

"SHIELD does."

"I'm not SHIELD."

"But you work for them." Cassandra sighed.

"Look, whatever SHIELD's motivations might be, I assure you I only want to help," she told Steve, sliding a business card across the desk. "So when you find your friend, will you do me a favor? Call the number on that card?" Steve nodded and wordlessly took the card. There was a knock on the door.

"That would be Simmons coming to collect you," Cassandra said. "Take care Captain."

"Thank you," Steve replied. When he reached the door, something occurred to him. He turned back.

"Miss Flynn?" he asked. She glanced up curiously.

"Thank you for being honest with me," he told her. She smiled.

"You're very welcome, Captain," she said. "And please, call me Cassie."

"Cassie. Right," Steve replied, and slipped out the door. He left Cassie sitting at her desk, writing in her notebook, frowning like she was pondering the mysteries of the universe.


	3. Chapter 3

Cassie's phone rang early in morning for the second time in a week.

 _At least I got to finish my breakfast this time,_ she thought ruefully. She regretfully set down the book she was reading and tapped the answer button on her phone.

"Hello?" she asked

"Cassie? It's Steve-uh, Captain Rogers."

"Oh, hello Captain!" Cassie said, suddenly a lot more interested. "How are you?"

"I'm good, thanks. I uh, I found Bucky. Or rather, he found me."

"I see. And how's he doing?"

"Not too good. He had some nightmares last night. They must have been pretty bad- there was a lot of screaming and thrashing around." Cassie frowned.

"I see," she repeated. "Well, just hang tight. I'll send someone to pick you guys up."

"Not Hunter, I hope," Rogers said worriedly. Cassie laughed.

"No, of course not. Subjecting your traumatized friend to Hunter's driving would be a very bad idea." His relieved sigh was loud enough to be heard over the phone.

"Thanks," he said. "See you soon?"

"As soon as possible," she assured him, and hung up. She called Simmons immediately afterward. She picked up on the first ring.

"What do you need, Cassie?" she asked.

"I just got off the phone with Captain Rogers. He says he found his friend. I need someone to pick them up and take them to the base. I assume that _someone's_ been keeping track of his living arrangements." Simmons didn't immediately respond. They both knew who _someone_ was.

"Any preferences on who?" she finally asked.

"Anyone besides Hunter. Rogers was very clear about that."

"I think Skye's free. I'll send her."

"Okay. Thanks Simmons."

"You're welcome," Simmons singsonged, and hung up.

Cassie sighed. For the first time, she found herself doubting her ability to carry out the task she's been hired to perform. She'd had remarkable success with SHIELD's brainwashed agents, but the things that HYDRA had done to Sergeant Barnes went so far beyond brainwashing that she wasn't even sure her usual methods would work. But Captain Rogers was trusting her to help his friend, and she'd just have to hope she could prove herself worthy of that trust.

 _Here goes nothing,_ she thought, getting in her car and driving to the base. She parked in the hangar, next to SHIELD's solitary quinjet, and noted the obvious absence of the sleek black SUV from its usual parking spot, which meant that someone was using it for some kind of errand in the service of SHIELD. She had a feeling she knew what errand, but even so, there was no way for her to know when the captain and his friend would arrive. She sighed impatiently and made her way into the base. She paused in front of the door to her office, then continued past it to the lab. She nodded to Fitz, who was fiddling with some kind of gadget laid out on the table in front of him, then sat down at a table of her own. She put her earbuds in and set her phone on vibrate so that she could hear it over her music, then settled in to wait. What felt like several hours passed before her phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen and saw it was really more like thirty minutes.

"Yes?" she asked by way of answer.

"Skye's just arrived," Simmons said on the other end. "She's got Rogers and Barnes with her." Cassie thought for a moment.

"Have them meet me in the lab," she finally said.

"The lab? Not your office? Are you sure?" Simmons asked. There was a warning note in her voice.

"What's the problem Simmons?" Cassie wanted to know.

"Considering the sergeant's mental state, such as it is, do you really think it's a good idea to bring him to the _lab_?"

"I'm sure I can handle it."

"Okay, if you say so." There was a click as Simmons disconnected. Cassie set her phone down. After a while she heard voices down the hall. She recognized one as Captain Rogers'.

"Please Bucky," he pleaded. "I'm not going to hurt you. No one here is going to hurt you." The voice that responded was frantic. Desperate. Terrified even.

"No! They'll hurt me Steve! They'll make me hurt _you_! Don't make me go in there! Please don't make me go in there!"

Cassie ran out into the hallway, and nothing could have prepared her for the scene that greeted her there. Captain Rogers had an arm around the waist of a man with a thin, haggard face and ragged unkempt hair, who was screaming and thrashing, trying desperately to break his grip and escape. Their eyes met for a split second, and the wild, haunted look in them sent a shive down Cassie's spine. A moment later Rogers was hit across the jaw by the man's metal arm and he went down. The man took the opportunity to release himself from the captain's grip and try to bolt down the hallway. Skye, who'd been standing some distance away, watching the chaos unfold, jumped out of his way, apparently deciding that she didn't want to tangle with someone who could knock Captain Rogers to the ground so easily. Cassie's mind raced. She had to do something quickly or he'd be gone.

"Sergeant Barnes!" she said sharply. He stopped and immediately snapped to attention, though he looked extremely bewildered as he did so, and Cassie knew all to well why. The habit was deeply ingrained due to his extensive military training, both for the SSR and SHIELD and against it, but the excessive amount of memory wiping that HYDRA had subjected him to had left him with only the habit and no meaning or explanation behind it.

"Do you trust...Steve?" Cassie asked gently. The name felt alien in her mouth. It felt wrong, somehow, to refer to Captain Rogers in such a familiar way, as if he was her friend, but she was careful not to let Barnes see that. There was a pause, then Sergeant Barnes nodded.

"And does he trust me?" Barnes looked over at Rogers, who was getting to his feet. He nodded. Barnes turned back to Cassie and copied Rogers' nod.

"Then you can trust me too," she assured him. "Neither I, nor anyone else here, is going to hurt you. I want to help you, but I can't do that if you don't let me. Are you going to let me?" Barnes nodded.

"Not much for words, are you?" Barnes started to shake his head, then stopped and said

"No ma'am." His voice sounded creaky from disuse. "HYDRA preferred to keep me muzzled. This is the first time I've been able to speak freely in... a while."

"Well, let's hope we can continue that trend," Cassie said with a smile. "If you'll follow me please Sergeant, Captain." She led the way into the lab, Rogers and Barnes in tow. Fitz was still there, still tinkering with the same gadget. She didn't know he could focus with all the noise in the hallway, but she had to admire his work ethic. She reached her table in the back and sat down, pulling out another chair and indicating that Sergeant Barnes should sit in it. Captain Rogers stood behind her, his arms crossed, six feet two inches and 240 pounds of patriotism and raw physical power. He was really quite intimidating.

"Let's start with something relatively simple," Cassie said, fidgeting nervously in her chair. "Do you remember anything from before you were the Winter Soldier?" Barnes thought for a minute, then nodded.

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"We... were on a train. We were on some kind of mission... we were there to capture someone... I think it was Zola? There was a HYDRA soldier there with some kind of energy cannon that he shot Steve with. It didn't kill him, because the blast had deflected off his shield, but he couldn't get up. I remember that Zola was screaming at the soldier, commanding him to fire again, to-to... kill Steve. His shield was at my feet. I had a gun. I knew what I had to do. I picked up the shield and started firing at the soldier. He shot at me with his energy cannon. The blast deflected off of the shield, but the impact pushed me out of hole in the side of the train and... I fell. I knew I was going to die, but that was okay because I knew I'd kept my little brother safe. Cassie looked over at Captain Rogers. His expression was happy, but his eyes told a different story. They were filled with a deep, unimaginable sadness that even a writer-at-heart like herself could not find the words to describe.

"Well, that was intense," she said, making a pathetic stab at humor to try and lighten the mood. She turned away from them and began rummaging around in the drawers on the table. Her phone buzzed suddenly, making her jerk her head up so quickly that she whacked it on the light suspended over the table. She smiled sheepishly and reached for her phone while rubbing the back of her head.

"Director Coulson wants you to remain here for the course of Sergeant Barnes' treatment," she informed them, reading off of her phone. She saw Captain Rogers jerk in surprise at the name "Coulson", but she decided not to pursue the issue. She continued her hunt in the drawers and produced a notepad, which she handed to Sergeant Barnes.

"Whenever you remember something, write it down in here," she told him in her best doctor voice. "We'll meet again in a few days and see how you're doing."

"Can Steve come?" he asked.

"Of course he can! But don't be afraid to talk to me on your own. I won't bite."

Barnes smiled thinly at her attempt at humor.

"There's one more thing," Cassie told him.

"What's that?"

"I want you to remember that no matter what people say, you are not a villain. You are a good man and a good friend. None of the things you did are your fault."

Barnes nodded, although he looked doubtful.

" Thank you," Rogers said. "You've given us a lot to think about."

"That's my job," Cassie replied. "It is only by rational thought that we conquer the demons of our own minds. But nevertheless, you are welcome."

Rogers nodded once, then left, his traumatized friend following close behind him. Cassie gave them a few minutes, then she too left, leaving Fitz alone with his tinkering.


	4. Chapter 4

Steve walked to the room that had been prepared for him in SHIELD's only base, following an extremely awkward dinner during which everyone present had stared at him, their expressions ranging from openly awestruck to resentful and irritated. He had never felt more unwelcome. It was more clear to him now than ever that, despite his having the best of intentions, he might never be forgiven for the destruction of SHIELD. He sighed heavily and paused in front Bucky's room, which was adjacent to his own. He tapped lightly on the door.

"Bucky? You okay in there buddy?" he queried.

"I'm _fine_ Steve," came the exasperated reply.

"You sure? You're not gonna turn all deadly assassin on me, are you?"

" That would be a pretty stupid thing to do considering I'm surrounded by people who think I killed their boss, wouldn't it?" Bucky's words were lighthearted, but his tone was bitter. Steve frowned.

"Well, I'm right next door if you need anything," he said.

"I know, Steve. I know," was Bucky's response.

Steve sighed again and went into "his" room. Looking around, he could see that, for a bedroom, it was sparsely furnished. It had a bed, a dresser, a nightstand, a bookshelf, and not much else. The bookshelf was empty. The bed had sterile white sheets and was made in a neat, precise way that implied it had never been slept in. If past experience was anything to judge by, it probably never would be either. Steve sat down on the edge of the bed but immediately jumped back up again when it caved uncomfortably beneath him. It was then that he noticed the bookshelf wasn't as empty as he'd thought. Sitting on the top shelf, pushed back far enough to be missed by a cursory inspection of the room, was a record player, with a neat stack of records beside it. Steve flipped through the stack. Gershwyn, Sinatra, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, U2. He recognized a few of the names, but most were unfamiliar to him. He placed the records back on the shelf and sat back down on the edge of the bed, finding that it didn't cave in as much if he did so slowly. It was late and he wanted to sleep, but his mind wouldn't let him. It kept going back to what Cassie had said to him earlier... what was it? "It is only by rational thought that we conquer the demons of our own minds"? Yes, that was it. His thoughts drifted to Bucky, in the room next door. What kind of demons were inhabiting his mind? And how much rational thought would it take to conquer them? Was it even... no. He pushed the thought away. He was even more aware of how late it was, and, despite his hyperactive mind, he was determined to get some sleep. He lay down on the floor and closed his eyes, and thought no more that night.


	5. Chapter 5

      To someone with an imagination as vivid as Cassie's, SHIELD's base  was full of ghosts. As she sat in the recreation area alone, a stack of heavy manila file folders in front of her, she could almost feel the base's decades of history in the silence surrounding her.  Had the Howling Commandos ever walked these halls? Had Peggy Carter once sat in the office currently occupied by Director Coulson? Had Howard Stark ever stood in the lab, concocting one of his crazy-yet-ingenious inventions? 

    She studied the files in front of her. She had asked Simmons for information on the Howling Commandos, in order to gain a little insight into Sergeant Barnes' past, but she hadn't been expecting to receive _this much_ information. She had a file on every member of the Howling Commandos, plus Captain Rogers' Project Rebirth file. Simmons had also seen fit to include the first ever O-8-4 report, signed by Peggy Carter. When Cassie had questioned her about it, she'd insisted it was because the Howling Commandos had assisted Carter in capturing Werner Reindhart and recovering the Obelisk, but considering what Cassie knew about the famous Agent Carter, she thought that about as likely as HYDRA suddenly being all about world peace. In the end she'd chalked it up to Simmons' idolatry of Peggy Carter and let it slide. Cassie smiled as she picked up the top folder in the stack and began to read. After a while she heard footsteps, and Captain Rogers entered the recreation area.

     "Good morning Captain," she said without looking up

     "I smell coffee," was his reply. Cassie nodded at the coffee maker, then went back to reading. After a moment, Rogers asked "Cassie?" She glanced up.

      "Will you do me a favor?"

       "What is it?" Cassie asked politely.

       "Will you please stop calling me 'Captain Rogers' all the time? It feels too... formal."

        " Alright... Steve."

Steve smiled. She felt the couch cave slightly as he sat down on the other end of it.

        "You know, my friends and I used to play 'Howling Commandos' when we were little," Cassie said.

         "Oh really?" Steve asked

         "Yeah," Cassie replied, smiling at the memory. "We'd all pick a commando and then we'd gang up on the local bullies, pretending they were Red Skull and HYDRA."

         "And which one where you?"

         "Come to think of it, I was usually you." Cassie grimaced, like it was an embarrassing secret. "My best friend Sam was always Bucky, so it just kind of made sense. Sam was always the one who'd protect me from... everything, the same way Bucky used to do for you." She risked a sideways glance at Steve. He was staring straight ahead, careful not to meet her eyes.

        "I'm sorry," she said softly. "That was incredibly insensitive of me." Steve shook his head.

        "Don't be sorry," he said. He sighed. "It's just... I miss Bucky. I mean, yeah he's right next to me and everything, but he's not the same. He's not the Bucky I remember, the one who was strong and capable, not to mention stubborn as hell, the one who protected me from... everything. He may never be that Bucky again."

         "That's okay," Cassie replied. "That's what I'm here for. We'll get through this."

  They fell into silence. Cassie continued reading her files. Steve held his coffee mug in both hands, hunched over and staring off into space. A footstep sounded nearby. A low, hesitant voice, creaky from disuse, called out

           "Steve?"

           "Speak of the devil," Cassie muttered.

           "Hello James, " she called out cheerfully, operating off the assumption that it was now okay for her to refer to Sergeant Barnes by his first name. "Come, join us."

  James entered the room the way a hunted animal might-slowly, cautiously, shoulders hunched, head lowered, sneaking sideways glances at everyone and everything in the room. Although, considering his past, perhaps "abused dog" was a more apt description than "hunted animal".  Apparently deciding that there was nothing dangerous in the room, but also apparently not wanting to be too close to the people in it, James opted to perch on the edge of the table, as far away from Cassie and Steve as he could get.

         "What did you just call me?" he asked quietly.

          "James," Cassie said, careful to maintain a cheerful tone. "That is your name, isn't it?"

          "I-I think so," James replied. "That's what the thing at the museum said."

          "What museum?"

           "I think it was the Smithsonian? There was a thing there that said that my name is James Buchanan Barnes. It also said I died in 1945, so I'm not sure if it's accurate."

           "Well, obviously the thing about you being dead is wrong, but the rest of it's accurate. In fact, I'm fairly certain that's where your nickname comes from-it's short for Buchanan." She looked at Steve for confirmation. He nodded in agreement. Cassie gave James a moment to collect his thoughts before she asked

            "So is this a social visit or is there something you'd like to share with me?" she glanced at Steve and added "With us?"

           "I-I've been having a lot of dreams lately," James said, cautiously handing her the notepad she'd given him a few days ago. "I mean, I guess they were actually memories, but they seemed like dreams. Anyway, I wrote down the only pleasant one I can remember." Cassie raised an eyebrow as she took the notepad from him.

           "The only pleasant one?" she asked.

           "It was horrible," Steve put in, his voice quiet. "All this screaming... I can't even imagine what HYDRA must have been doing to him all those years." Cassie looked at him and saw, for the first time, the dark circles under his eyes, the exhaustion in his posture. No wonder he needed coffee. The poor guy probably hadn't gotten a full night's sleep in days. Eager to avoid thinking too hard about the likely cause of Steve's sleeplessness, she opened the notepad and started to read:

_"I don't see what your problem is," I told Steve as we entered the science convention. "You're about to be the last eligible man in New York. You know there's three and a half million women here."_

_"Well, I'd settle for just one," Steve replied._

_"Good thing I took care of that," I said, a grin spreading across my face. I waved to a pair of girls waiting some distance away, whom Steve hadn't noticed yet._

_"Hey Bucky!" one of them called, returning my wave. Steve looked at me, exasperation clear on his face._

_"What'd you tell her about me?" he asked under his breath._

_"Only the good stuff," I muttered in reply. Steve sighed, but he allowed me to lead him toward the girls with little resistance._

    "Okay, this is progress, this is good!" Cassie exclaimed excitedly. "But do you know what would help even more?" James shook his head.

           "You need to start writing down the bad dreams too," Cassie explained.

           "But they scare me," James replied. He sounded almost petulant, like a terrified child. It saddened Cassie to see this once-proud man reduced to such a state.

            "I know they scare you," she said soothingly. "But with these dreams, as with life, you've got to take the bad along with the good. It's the only way to make any progress. Do you think you can do that?" James nodded hesitantly.

          "Good," Cassie said, handing him back the notepad. "Do that, and come see me again whenever you're ready, okay?" James nodded again and left. Steve stared after him.

          "Go," Cassie told him. "Be with him. Talk to him. It might help shake something loose."

          "What do I talk to him about?" he asked.

          "Doesn't matter. Just talk. Let him know you're here for him."

Steve nodded and then he was gone, leaving Cassie alone with her thoughts.


	6. Chapter 6

_Cassie sat in a room. Unfortunately, she recognized it. It was her high school world history classroom, and there was Mr. Wellington, her old teacher, standing at the front of the room and reading off of a PowerPoint, the same way he had every day she'd been in his class._

Doesn't he notice he's talking to an empty room? _she thought._

_No sooner had it crossed her mind then her old friend Jake appeared beside her, although he didn't say anything or really do anything other than stare at Mr. Wellington's PowerPoint like it was the most interesting thing he's ever seen. Cassie glanced at the classroom door. It was closed, but she could hear running footsteps beyond it._

People shouldn't run indoors, _she thought._ They could get hurt.

_Time passed, and she heard Steve's voice yelling her name. She frowned. Then the classroom door started shaking like someone was pounding on it._

Cassie's eyes flew  open. Someone _was_ pounding on her door, hard enough to rattle it in its frame. She swung her legs out of bed and ran to the door. She yanked it open. Steve was standing in the hallway, a terrified look on his face.

      "What happened?" she asked.

      "Bucky," Steve gasped, and she felt her blood run cold. She shoved past him and took off running down the hallway, her bare feet slapping against the concrete floor. She rounded a corner and skidded to a halt. James was marching down the hallway, straight toward her, and it didn't seem likely that he was going stop. If she didn't do something he'd run right over her.

       "James," she said in a warning tone, holding out a hand.

      "Who is James?" he asked. "I am the Winter Solider. The fist of HYDRA." Cassie shook her head.

      "You are James Buchanan Barnes," she said. "You were a sergeant in the U.S. army during World War Two. Your best friend is Steve Rogers, who is known as-"

     "James Barnes died in 1945!" James roared, cutting her off- no, not James. The Winter Solider. She hadn't realized how sharp the distinction was until now. "There's nothing left of him now."

     "That's not true," she told him, as calmly as she could. "He's still there somewhere. I know he is. I've seen him." The Winter Soldier snorted.

     "Where?" he demanded, and in that moment he was both the Winter Soldier and James Barnes. Cassie was starting to get a headache just trying to keep the two of them separate in her head. She could only imagine what James must have been feeling.

      "In the fact that I wake up screaming?" James/The Winter Soldier asked when she didn't immediately respond. "Or that I'm so unstable everyone has to be on their guard around me? Oh, I know! It's in the fact that I tried to kill someone who's supposed to be my best friend!" His mouth twisted into a bitter, cynical smile. Cassie took an involuntary step back, and his attention instantly focused on the movement.

        "I'm going to kill you," he warned in a low voice, and he was the Winter Soldier again. "No one must  stand in the way of my mission." Cassie felt her stomach drop. _Steve_ , she thought fearfully. No sooner had the thought crossed her mind then Steve came careening around the corner. Cassie tried to wave him off, but it was too late. The Winter Soldier had already seen him.

      "Steve?" he asked in a broken voice. Cassie felt her shoulder relax. That had been James who'd said that, not the Winter Soldier. Maybe the danger had passed.

      "I'm here Bucky," Steve said. "Everything's going to be okay."

      "Don't call me that!" the Winter Soldier screamed. "I am not Bucky! I am the Winter Soldier! The fist of HYDRA! And you-you... you are my mission! I must not fail my mission!" He lunged toward Steve, but his knees buckled, and he collapsed to the floor.

      "Bucky..."

      "No!" James put his hands over his ears and screamed, raw-throated, primal, and filled with an animal rage beyond all description. It sent a shiver down Cassie's spine.

      "Bucky," Steve said pleadingly. James curled into a ball on the floor, sobbing.

      "Steve, it hurts," he cried. "He's there. He's not me, but he's me at the same time and he just wants to hurt you and-" He let out another scream and Steve knelt down. Cassie wasn't sure what to do with herself. This seemed like an extremely private moment. She felt like an intruder just by standing there.

_I am not getting paid enough for this_ , she thought, mostly to distract herself.

    "Bucky, look at me," Steve said. James did, but wouldn't meet his eyes and instead seemed intent on staring at the tip of his nose. Steve sighed.

    "We are going to get through this," he continued. "You and me. Together. All right?" James nodded shakily.

     "Till the end of the line?"  James nodded again. He shifted to a kneeling position. The two friends embraced, James clinging to Steve the way a drowning man clings to the rock that offers him salvation. Feeling even more like an intruder, Cassie turned and left, trusting that Steve was could get James back to his room safely.


	7. Chapter 7

   The next morning Steve was woken early by a message from Simmons telling him that Cassie had requested his and Bucky's presence in the recreation area. Bucky must have received a similar message, as he was leaning against his door waiting when Steve emerged from his room. He fell into step behind Steve as he went to the recreation area, but he kept well back, as though he was afraid he would hurt him just by being near him. Steve repressed a sigh. Cassie was already there when they arrived. She was sitting on the couch, but her back was ramrod straight and the set of her shoulders was high and tense, which told Steve that she was nervous about something.

    "Good morning Captain, Sergeant," she said when she saw them. She stood and shook Steve's hand. She moved to do the same with Bucky, but he jerked away from her. She sighed and started pacing back and forth in front of the coffee table. Steve raised an eyebrow at her sudden return to earlier formalities.

      "Where are my manners?" she asked, seeming to just remember that they were there. "Please, sit."

   She indicated the recently vacated couch with a wave of her hand. They sat, although Bucky perched on the edge of the couch, as was his wont.

      "Cassie," Steve said abruptly, growing tired of watching her pace. She stopped and stared at him questioningly.

       "What's the problem?" he asked

       "No problem. There isn't a problem," Cassie said. "It's just... I..." She took a deep breath. "Based on the events of yesterday, I'm ready to make a diagnosis."

        "Do tell," Steve said drily.

        "Based on what I observed, I believe that James has what's known as split personality disorder."

        "Which means?"

        "Basically, it means that he's two people occupying the same mind. One of those people is James as we see him now, and the other is the Winter Soldier, whom we saw yesterday. As near as I can figure out,the Winter Soldier is an amplified and corrupted manifestation of James' protective instincts,created in order to cope with what HYDRA did to him- and made him do. Therefore,whenever James is in danger,real or perceived, the Winter Solider takes over and we get situations like the one yesterday."

      "Ok, so what can we do about it?"

       "Well, the way I see it, it has to go one of two ways- either James has to learn to control the Winter Soldier or the two of them have to learn to coexist." Steve glanced over at Bucky, who was staring at the floor apparently oblivious to their conversation. His forehead furrowed with concern.

        "What if they can't?" he asked. "What if they can't learn to coexist? What if Bucky can't control the Winter Soldier? What will happen then?" Cassie looked away from him, stared at the floor.

        "Honestly?" she said. "I really don't know. All of this is more than I was ever prepared for. I'm as in the dark about it as you. And I... I just-" Tears welled up her eyes.

        "Whoa,hey," Steve said. "What's wrong?"

         "Sorry," Cassie said, shaking her head fiercely,as though she could chase her tears away that way. "I was just thinking about Sam, and how I would feel if I lost her the way you lost James,and I feel so bad because I can't help you,and because there's a part of me that's afraid to help James,that's afraid to be around him because it doesn't separate him from the Winter Soldier the way it should... I'm sorry. I have to go. I need some time alone to.. to think."

  She turned and bolted out of the room. Bucky looked up at the very moment she disappeared around the corner, shoving his hair out of his eyes as he did so. He glanced around then frowned in confusion.

     "Where's Cassie?" he asked.

     "She went back to her room," Steve told him. "She said she needed some time alone to... work through some stuff,I guess."

       "She's afraid of me,isn't she?" Bucky asked quietly. Steve shook his head.

      "Not all of her," he said. "She said there's a part of her that's afraid to be around you because it doesn't separate you from the Winter Soldier the way it should." Bucky nodded in a resigned sort of manner that implied he thought it only right that people be afraid to be around him. Then he glanced sideways at Steve, asking him why he wasn't.

      "Because I know you," Steve said, responding to the unspoken question. "The things you did that you think should make me afraid of you? That wasn't you.That was the Winter Soldier, not Bucky Barnes. Not my best friend."

      "But I _am_ the Winter Soldier," Bucky protested. "Anything he did was something I did too. Anything that was his fault is my fault too."

      "No!" Steve shouted, though he wasn't sure if he was responding to what Bucky had just said or to the fact that everyone he knew,save for Sam,had been telling him something similar ever since the fall of SHIELD. Bucky flinched and recoiled.

      "Didn't you hear what Cassie just said?" Steve continued. "You and the Winter Soldier are _two_ _different people._ I don't care what anyone else says. That wasn't you, do you hear me? That.. that wasn't you."

  His words were met with silence. He heard a noise, the barest whisper of a footstep, but by the time he glanced back Bucky had already disappeared.

     "Damn it!" he called. "I'm sorry Buck. I shouldn't have yelled like that, but you don't need to run away from me. I'm not going to hurt you."

   The only answer he received was silence. Bucky wasn't coming back. He yelled in frustration and slammed his fist against the coffee table. He threw himself down on the couch and his yell came back to him, echoing sharply off the walls, reminding him of how shamefully he'd just acted. He sighed and put his face in his hands. He sat there like that for a long time, trying in vain to think of some way to help his friend.


	8. Chapter 8

Bucky was surprised to find that he was the first person in the recreation area in the morning. It had become the unofficial meeting place of Steve and Cassie and himself, and Cassie was usually the only person there when he arrived, although sometimes she had Steve with her. Today, however, she was conspicuously absent. Bucky frowned and sat down on edge of the couch, clutching the notepad Cassie had given him tightly in one hand. He'd been hoping to share more of the dreams he'd written down with her, but if she wasn't here he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. Strange how quickly he'd come to rely on her calm practicality to help him make sense of the jumbled mess of thoughts in his head. He sighed and watched the entrance to the recreation area intently, hoping Cassie would appear, but instead it was Steve who walked in. He sighed. Steve, apparently unconsciously, echoed his sigh.

"You doing okay there, Buck?" he asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"I'm fine Steve," Bucky replied quietly. He preferred to talk quietly because he couldn't stand the unconscious look of pity that flashed across Steve's face whenever he was reminded of what HYDRA had done to him, and his voice didn't sound as creaky when he was quiet.

"That's good," Steve said. He sounded distracted, like his mind was elsewhere.

"What about you?" Bucky asked, because some unnamed instinct prodded him to check up on Steve. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Steve replied.

"Even if you weren't, would you tell me?"

"Probably not, but I swear I really am fine. I'm just a little tired, that's all."

"Alright, if you say so."

Silence fell between them, but it was not the sort of comfortable silence that Bucky's ever returning memories told him they used to be able to sit in for hours. Instead, it was full of tension, with Bucky continuing to watch for Cassie and Steve leaning deceptively casually against the table, drinking his coffee and sneaking glances at Bucky when he thought he wasn't looking.

"Have you seen Cassie yet this morning?" Bucky finally asked when staring at the entrance to the recreation area didn't make her appear.

"No, not yet," Steve replied with a shake of his head. "Must mean she's up to something."  
"Up to something, am I?" Cassie's voice from behind Bucky, as he had turned around to talk to Steve. He turned, and there she was, standing by the couch, dressed in an oversized purple sweatshirt and black sweatpants, her long raven black hair pulled up into a high ponytail. She was holding something in her hand, white-what were they called? Earbuds? That sounded about right-earbuds dangling from between her fingers.

"What have you got there Cassie?" Steve asked.

"Call it an experiment," Cassie replied, stepping away from the couch. She opened her hand, revealing a rectangular blue device just slightly larger than her palm.

"This is an iPod," she said in response to Bucky's confused look.

"They're a bit more portable than a record player," Steve remarked drily.

"That they are," Cassie replied with a nod.

"So, what's the experiment?" Bucky asked, eager to get to whatever it was. Cassie handed each of them an earbud by way of answer.

"Sam and I used to walk around listening to music from the same pair of earbuds," she explained. "It's a great way to test how well you know your best friend, and I thought it might help you guys get some of your familiarity back."

Steve took the iPod from her and asked, "Just exactly how long is this experiment supposed to last?"

"Until the end of the day,or until you run out of music," she said. "Whichever comes first. Enjoy yourselves. I'll be in my room if you need me." She turned and ran out of the room, her ponytail flying out like a banner behind her.

The task that Cassie had given them turned out to be more difficult than they thought it would be. For one thing, any movement by one person that wasn't copied by the other resulted in them having the earbud yanked out of their ear, at which point they would have to run to catch up and put it back in. For another, having only one earbud in made it difficult to talk to each other in any way in order to decide where to go, as it was incredibly hard to listen to music in one ear and someone talking in the other without getting distracted by one or the other. Eventually though, they got the hang of it and were able to enjoy the music without having to focus on or worry about anything else.

The song they were listening to ended and they paused, waiting for the next one to start, but were met with nothing but silence. Steve shrugged and pulled his earbud out of his ear. Bucky followed suit.

"Guess we should give this back to Cassie," Steve said, gesturing with the iPod. Bucky nodded. They went to Cassie's room. Steve tapped politely on the door.

"Come in," Cassie singsonged. They entered to find her sitting cross-legged on her bed, typing on a laptop balanced across her knees.

"Hello you two,"she said. "Did you enjoy yourselves?" Bucky nodded enthusiastically, which made both her and Steve smile.

"That's good," she said. "What can I do for you?"

"We came to give you your iPod back," Steve said.

"It's not my iPod," Cassie replied. "It's yours." She pointed at Steve. He frowned, bewildered.

"Mine?" he asked.

"Yes," Cassie said matter-of-factly. "SHIELD is paying me all this money to fix their people. I figured I might as well put it to good use."

"And 'good use' was buying me an iPod?" Steve asked sarcastically, making air quotes with his fingers.

"Buying both of you iPods," Cassie corrected,"and of course. I've found listening to music,especially music you enjoy, can be quite therapeutic, and don't you _dare_ try and tell me that James is the only one in need of a little therapy." Steve started to protest, but Cassie cut him off.

"Cut the crap, Steve," she said. " You may be able to hide your problems from James or the Avengers, but you can't hide them from me. I'm a psychologist. I observe. I diagnose. It's what I do."

"So what you're saying is every time we've had a conversation you've been...diagnosing me?" Steve asked. His voice was taut with anger.

"Not intentionally," Cassie said, trying to placate him,"but I notice things, okay? When I'm talking to you, I notice all the little details you thought nobody could see. Surely you remember what that's like. James did the same thing before HYDRA got their hands on him, didn't he?"

"Yes," Steve admitted. His shoulders slumped. Bucky felt a surge of protective anger flare up deep down. He pushed it back. He had a feeling now would not be a good time to lose control and give the Winter Soldier the opportunity to take over.

"I'm sorry I'm not James," Cassie said. Her voice was pleading. "I'm sorry you feel like I violated your trust. I'm smart enough to know that no one goes through what you went through unscarred. Not even you. I swear I just want to help. I see people's problems and I want to help solve them. It's what I do. It's...it's who I am."

"Fine," Steve said, spreading his arms wide. "Diagnose me." Cassie looked startled, as if that wasn't the answer she'd been expecting.

"Okay," Cassie said hesitantly. She paused, probably to collect her thoughts, then said, "Hypnophobia, probably brought on by PTSD."

"Hypnophobia?" Steve asked.

"The fear of sleep," Cassie explained,"usually caused by nightmares so intense and frequent that the sufferer deprives themselves of sleep for for fear of having to experience them."

"Well sure, I've had some nightmares, but nothing _that_ bad,"Steve said.

"Oh please," Cassie replied bluntly. "You do know that my room is right next to yours, right? I know for a fact that you haven't slept in," she counted it off on her fingers, "five days."

"What about PTSD?" Bucky put in. "What does that have to do with it?"

"PTSD tends to cause nightmares," Cassie said. "The more intense the initial trauma, the more intense and frequent the resulting nightmares will be. And when someone has experienced multiple traumatic events, as you and Steve have... well, it stands to reason that the nightmares could be bad enough to make you want to avoid sleep."

"Then why aren't you trying to pry into Bucky's mind?" Steve demanded. "Why am I the only one you're questioning?"

"Because we both know what James' problem is," Cassie said defensively,"and it isn't the same as yours. He goes to bed, he has a nightmare that wakes him up, and then he goes back to sleep. You, on the other hand, are avoiding sleep entirely. The one thing I can't understand is why. Not to trivialize your pain, but what could you be having nightmares about that could possibly be worse than whatever James is having nightmares about?" Steve stiffened.

"I don't want to talk about it," he said.

"Come on Steve," Cassie prodded. "Just tell me what it is you dream about. Maybe I can-"

"No!" Steve snapped, cutting her off mid-sentence. "I said I don't want to talk about it, which means-surprise- that I don't want to talk about it!" His voice rose steadily with each word until, by the end of his sentence, he was shouting. Bucky felt that protective anger flare up again.

_Careful_ , the Winter Soldier whispered maliciously in the back of his mind. He tensed and was about to tell Steve that maybe they should leave, but Steve beat him to it.

"Come on Buck," he growled, and swept past him out the door. As Bucky went to follow him, Cassie called, "James?" He turned. Cassie fixed him with a pleading stare.

"You'll talk to him for me, right?" she asked. "He'll listen to you." Bucky thought for a minute, then nodded, though he knew even as he was leaving the room that he wasn't going to follow through with Cassie's request.


	9. Chapter 9

Cassie woke in a sullen mood. She didn't understand why Steve had to get so damn defensive. She was just trying to help. Not really in the mood for human interaction, she hung around in her room on her laptop for a few hours until hunger forced her out into the mess hall for breakfast. Steve was already there when she arrived, which didn't really improve her mood. He was just about the last person she wanted to see at the moment. She popped bread into the toaster, poured herself a cup of coffee, and stirred creamer into it while she waited for her toast to pop. When her toast was done she took a seat across the table from Steve. She raised an eyebrow at the massive plate of food in front of him, but decided not to make a comment about it. She figured he must have had to take in a massive amount of calories just to keep his metabolism going. She took a sip of her coffee and watched him over the top of her mug. The tension between them was palpable. James entered the room, which lessened it somewhat, but still not enough to be comfortable.

"Does he usually hold grudges like this?" Cassie asked him. James thought for a minute before answering.

"To the best of my knowledge, no," he said. "I think I remember that Peggy would hold them against him sometimes, but all he had to do was smile at her and she would forget why she was angry with him."

"Wish that worked with me," Cassie mumbled. Steve looked up and grinned at her, but it was sarcastic and mocking, and more like an angry baring of teeth than a smile. Cassie sighed.

"I don't know why you won't just let me help you," she muttered. Steve was on his feet in an instant, his chair rattling backwards with an angry clatter. It fell over with a _bang!_  that made Cassie flinch.

"For God's sake Cassie, will you stop prodding at me?" Steve shouted. "I'm not your psych experiment, okay? I'm not going to tell you what's wrong with me! You're not Bucky, and I want you to stop trying to act like you are!" Out of the corner of her eye, Cassie saw James flinch at hearing Steve say his nickname with so much anger in his voice. She could only assume that Steve losing control of his temper like this was not a regular occurrence. 

"I don't think you're my psych experiment," she said quietly, hoping that keeping the volume of her voice low instead of shouting back at Steve like she wanted to would help to calm him down. "And I'm not trying to be James either. I'm just trying to do my job."

" _Your job_ is to help Bucky, not me," Steve retorted. "If you were really trying to do your job, you would be focusing on him instead of needling me!" Cassie was on her feet now, leaning on tiptoe over the table to get right in Steve's face.

"Do not presume to tell me what my job is, _Captain Rogers_!" she shouted, her mocking tone acknowledging his authority in such a way as to convey how little she thought of it at the present moment. "If you didn't insist on being so goddamn narrow minded, you would realize that my _job_  is to help any occupant of this base who is experiencing any kind of mental trauma, whether that's you or James or the goddamn Director!" There was a blur of movement, and then James was between them, glowering at her.

"Back the hell off Cassie!" he snarled. "You're way out of line." Cassie rocked back onto her heels. She could see how close James was to losing control.

"Bucky, get out of the way!" Steve yelled, which is how Cassie knew he was really angry. He _never_ yelled at James. "This is none of your business." Cassie looked at Steve, tried to warn him with a frantic shake of her head, but it was too late. James shuddered, and then he wasn't James anymore. The Winter Soldier now stood in his place. Cassie froze. The Winter Soldier whirled, grabbed Steve by the throat, and lifted him off the ground.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't crush your windpipe right now, Rogers," he said in that emotionless voice of his.

"Bucky..." Steve choked out.

"Don't call me that!" the Winter Soldier yelled. He flung Steve across the room. He cried out in pain as he slammed into a wall and then crashed to the floor. Cassie was torn between a desire to make sure Steve was okay and an equally strong sense of self preservation.

"James!" she cried. The Winter Soldier turned to face her.

"Fight him James!" she implored, trying to keep her voice from quavering now that those cold, dead eyes were fixed on her. "You're stronger than he is. I know you are. Please. You have to fight him." The Winter Soldier twitched. Cassie saw James trying to break through and caught her breath, hardly daring to hope. Steve groaned as he struggled upright, and she felt a rising sense of despair as the Winter Soldier subdued James again and stalked across the room toward Steve. Cassie's mind raced. She had to stop the Winter Soldier from killing Steve. She _had_   to. If James came back and found his best friend dead, he would blame himself. Cassie knew this, and wished to spare him any unnecessary pain and mental anguish.

"James!" she shrieked. "Stop him! He's going to hurt Steve! Fight him!" The Winter Soldier twitched, stumbled,  then righted himself and continued on his dogged march toward Steve. Cassie tasted fear like bile in the back of her throat.

"James!" she shrieked again. The Winter Soldier stuttered to a halt. He twitched, shuddered, and when he looked over at her she could see, even from a distance, that he was James again. Cassie ran over to Steve, who was on his hands and knees near where he'd fallen.

"Are you okay?" she asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Should I get someone to administer first aid?"

"No, I'm okay," Steve said, though he was grimacing with pain. "Just... just help me up." Cassie nodded and knelt so he could get an arm around her shoulders. She helped him to his feet, though it felt like her legs would buckle. Steve was not a lightweight by any definition of the word. He winced as he lifted his arm away from her shoulders, and she noticed that he was very careful not to put any weight on his left foot.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked suspiciously. Steve nodded.

"It feels like I might have broken a couple ribs," he said," and I'm pretty sure my left ankle is sprained, but give it a few days and I'll be right as rain." Cassie almost smiled at his use of such an old manish phrase. Almost.

James made a sound like he was choking.

"Steve-" he said. His voice was clipped, hesitant, like a CD skipping. He jolted toward them. "I-I did this. I did this. I hurt you. This is-this is my fault. I'm sorry Steve. I'm so sorry." He slumped forward, like a marionette whose strings had been cut. He reached out to Steve, but jerked away a split second before he actually touched him.

"No," he said, shaking his head frantically. "Nonononono." He leapt backwards and bolted from the room. Steve moved to follow him, but Cassie stopped him with an outstretched arm.

"Leave him," she said. "He-he needs time." Steve nodded, his shoulders tense, and when Cassie left the mess hall he was still staring at the doorway where his best friend had disappeared.


	10. Chapter 10

It was the middle of the night, and Steve was in the recreation are, reading _The Once and Future King_  for what felt like the hundredth time and trying to calm himself down enough to even consider trying to sleep. His nerves were shot, his side hurt like hell, and he was half afraid that if he closed his eyes even for a moment he would be tormented with his usual nightmare. He sighed and shifted uncomfortably. Now his ankle was hurting too. Great. Footsteps sounded nearby. Steve glanced up. He was hoping his fellow insomniac was Bucky, but when Cassie entered the room that notion was dispelled. He found her presence didn't bother him. His anger toward her seemed to have dissipated.

"Did I wake you?" he asked, keeping his voice low. Cassie shook her head.

"I couldn't sleep," she said. "I was too worried about James." 

"Yeah," was the only response that Steve could bring himself to give.

"I thought i was terrifying the last time," Cassie went on, apparently oblivious to Steve's discomfort, "but that was nothing compared to what happened this morning. I mean, he didn't actually hurt you last time. This time, not only did he hurt you, I was afraid he would kill you."

"It's not like it was an isolated incident," Steve said evenly, even though he really wanted to just tell Cassie to shut up. He didn't though, because that would have been rude. Cassie blinked at him, startled.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'd forgotten about what happened to you on that helicarrier. Near death experiences with the Winter Soldier are probably the last thing you want to talk about right now. I'll shut up." A sigh of relief escaped Steve before he could stop it. Cassie smiled. She flipped open a tablet and curled up on the opposite end of the couch with it, her face illuminated by the glow from its screen.

"If I fall asleep on you..." she said. She left the end of her sentence hanging in the air. 

"Don't worry, I won't mind," Steve assured her with a smile. Mentally he added _It's wouldn't be the first time._

Steve didn't know when he fell asleep, but he did know when he woke screaming from a nightmare, startling Cassie, who had been sleeping with her head on his left knee, awake.

"Steve, what's going on?" she asked. "Are you alright?" Steve shook his head.

"I had a nightmare..." he said. "They were torturing Bucky, and... I couldn't do anything. I just had to sit there and watch."

"That's horrible," Cassie said empathetically. "Is that the nightmare that's been keeping you awake?" Steve shook his head again.

"No, this was a new one," he said. "Usually I have nightmares about the uh, the... the day I lost Bucky."

"I'm sensing a real theme of powerlessness here," Cassie remarked. Steve grunted in reluctant agreement.

"Well, I don't know what to tell you," Cassie said. "I would tell you to think positive, but I don't think that's going to work out in the long run. I don't know how to help you. I'm sorry."

"That's alright," Steve replied tiredly. "I'm sure you'll figure something out eventually."

"And when I do, you'll be the first to know," Cassie assured him, and those were the last words spoken by either of them that night.


	11. Chapter 11

"Steve!" Cassie cried when she went to check on James the next morning and found his room empty. She heard the slamming of a door, pounding, running footsteps, and the Steve was beside her.

"What is it?" he asked frantically. "What's wrong?" Cassie pointed at James' empty room.

"James is gone," she said.

Bucky ran. He didn't know or care where he was going. He just knew that he had to get away.

 _It doesn't matter how far you run,_  the Winter Soldier said. _You can't get away from me. You may not want to admit it, but I'm a part of you._

"Shut up!" Bucky yelled, drawing looks from the people he passed as he ran through the streets of an unfamiliar city. His mind was a jumble of racing, tumbling thoughts.

 _I need to find somewhere to hide,_  he thought. _Someplace empty and abandoned. Somewhere I can't hurt anyone._

He slowed, stumbling through the streets, searching. He came upon a warehouse, abandoned, dark, and falling into disrepair. The words painted on the front of the building, faded to near illegibility, read _Stark Industries._ An image of Howard Stark flashed through his mind, accompanied by a surge of guilt and sorrow. He brushed it aside and crept into the warehouse.

"There has to be something I can do,"Bucky muttered. "Some way to fix this. Some way to-"

 _No,_  the Winter Soldier interrupted. _There's no way to stop this, because no matter where you go, I will always be there. We're sharing this mind. Get over it!_

"No!" Bucky screamed. He slammed his fist against a wall. Pain, white hot and jagged, lanced through his hand.

 _You're weak Barnes,_  the Winter Soldier said scornfully. _You weren't strong enough to stop me from killing Howard Stark, and you won't be strong enough to stop me from killing Rogers and Cassie either. All you'll be able to do is weep for your loss like the weak little child you are._

"Shut up!" Bucky yelled. He put his hands over his ears as if that had any chance of blocking out the Winter Soldier's voice. Half-crazed, he started banging his head against the wall, trying to get the Winter Soldier out.

 _Stop it you idiot!_   the Winter Soldier yelled. _You'll kill us both!_

"Better I kill us than allow _you_  to kill any more innocent people," Bucky growled through clenched teeth. Getting desperate now, the Winter Soldier tried to wrestle control away from him, but he was damned if he was going to let him.

 _Ha!_ he thought, though taunting the Soldier probably wasn't the best idea. _Who's weak now?_

 _It's still you,_ the Winter Soldier snarled in reply, and fought even harder against Bucky's control. Bucky responded by slamming his head even harder against the wall. He cut open his forehead on the rough cement of the wall, sending blood running into his eye, blurring his vision with red, but he still didn't stop. He had to stop the soldier. He had to. And if he died in the process, well then so much the better.

 _You want to die so badly Barnes?_ the Winter Soldier asked angrily. _Fine!_   He slammed Bucky's head against the wall twice as hard as Bucky had, knocking him out. 

When he came to, he was lying flat on his back on the floor, and Cassie and Steve were standing over him.

"No!" he cried, scrambling backwards away from them. "You can't be here! I'll hurt you!"

"What the hell were you thinking?" Steve demanded. "Running off  in the middle of the night and scaring me half to death? Why would you do something like this?"

"Steve, chill," Cassie said. "He's been through enough without you yelling at him."

"I had to get away," Bucky said, addressing Steve. "The Winter Soldier... he's going to kill you and Cassie eventually, and I won't be strong enough to stop him. He's right. I'm weak."

"Well, you're never going to learn to control him if you keep letting him get to you like this," Cassie admonished good naturedly. "Believe me James, the last thing you are is weak." Bucky shook his head.

"I wasn't strong enough to stop him from killing Howard Stark," he said. "I won't be strong enough to stop him from killing you two either." Cassie let out an exasperated sigh.

"HYDRA very nearly erased you," she said, as if he didn't already know. "You couldn't stop the Winter Soldier from killing Howard Stark because there wasn't enough of you left to stop him, but things are different now. You're in control, not the Winter Soldier or HYDRA. Steve brought you back once, and I have no doubt that he can do it again if he needs to. You can do this James. I promise."

"I'm with you till the end of the line," Bucky muttered, remembering what Steve had said that had brought him back. Cassie nodded.

"Exactly," she said. "We're not going to give up you just because you feel like giving up on yourself. We're all in this together. We're going to help you through this, no matter what. Alright?" Bucky nodded hesitantly. Cassie smiled encouragingly.

"Good," she said. "Now let's go home."


	12. Chapter 12

Steve's breakfast was interrupted by the clack of high heels on concrete. It was a sound he recognized, but not one he'd ever expected to hear here. He didn't think he'd ever seen a single female occupant of the base wearing them, though he supposed they probably had good reasons not too. No doubt they considered combat boots and flats to be more practical for the type of work they did, but he wished he could tell them... he brushed the half formed thought aside, knowing that its conclusion was likely any one of a dozen painful memories of Peggy. He sighed.

"You okay there Steve?" Cassie asked, entering the room. To Steve's surprise, she was the one wearing heels, along with black slacks, a matching blazer, and a white blouse, although she looked like she was anything but comfortable.

"Yeah," Steve said. "I was just... thinking about Peggy."

"Trying _not_  to think about her, more like," Cassie replied, leaning over the table to snatch a piece of toast off his plate.

"How the hell did you figure that out?" Steve asked. "Your powers of psychological deduction never cease to amaze me." Cassie laughed.

"There's nothing deductive about it," she said. "I just wouldn't want to think about her either if I were in your position. Thanks for the compliment though. Let's just hope Director Coulson is as impressed with my 'psychological deduction'. In light of everything that's been happening with James, he's requested a progress report. I'm supposed to have a meeting with him about it in oh, a little more than five minutes."

"Sorry about the toast, by the way," she added. "This meeting means I don't have time to have breakfast."

"It's fine," Steve said. "How long do you think you'll be gone?"

"Well, that depends," Cassie replied. "If he's satisfied with my progress he might send me on an errand, maybe to check on one of his undercover agents, or to reestablish contact with an agent who's been underground since the Fall. I could be gone anywhere from an hour to the rest of the day, dependent entirely on how the meeting goes."

"I come bearing gifts," Simmons announced, walking into the room. She was carrying a purple travel mug in one hand. "Thought you might need this."

"Thanks Simmons. You're the best!" Cassie said, hugging her friend and taking the travel mug from her. She pulled her phone out of the pocket of her blazer, checked it, and said, "I'd really love to stay and chat, but I gotta go. I'll see you guys later."

"Good luck!" Steve called after her.

"Thanks!" she said, and then she was gone.


	13. Chapter 13

Cassie left her room in the morning to find Steve stepping out of his at the exact same moment.

"Where are you headed Cassie?" he asked, noticing the backpack slung over her shoulder.

"Home," Cassie replied, closing her door quietly behind her. "Director Coulson was so pleased with my progress that he granted me three days' leave." Steve nodded. He seemed disquieted by something.

"Simmons has my phone number," Cassie said, realizing what was bothering him. "She can call me if anything happens with James, and I'll be back here as quickly as I can." 

"Alright, well, enjoy your time off," Steve told her. She smiled brightly and hefted her backpack.

"Don't worry, I will," she said, and headed for the hangar. When she reached it and her car, she hesitated with her hand on the door handle. She realized that this would be her first time outside of the base in a while.

_Should I really be doing this?_  she wondered. _Should I really be leaving James on his own?_

As if reading her thoughts, her phone dinged. She pulled it out of her pocket and checked it. She'd just gotten a text from Simmons that read _Barnes says to enjoy your time off and don't worry about him. He says that as long as he has Rogers with him he'll be fine._  Cassie smiled at that. That was the kind of optimism she liked to see from him.

_Alright_ , she replied. _Try not to bombard Steve with too many questions about Peggy Carter while I'm gone._

_Can't make any promises_ , Simmons replied. Cassie laughed. She drove home in high spirits, singing along to Imagine Dragons blasting out of her car's speakers, drumming her hands on the steering wheel, grinning so wide it felt like her face would split open. When she reached her apartment, however, and was about to drop her backpack on the floor, home was suddenly the last place she wanted to be. Which wasn't to say that she wanted to be back at the base, but she didn't want to be where she was either. There was a nice coffee shop a few blocks from her apartment though. She decided that maybe she wouldn't mind spending the afternoon there. She hefted her backpack, left her apartment, and headed that way. She didn't bother to take her car- she could easily walk the distance from her apartment building to the coffee shop.

When she arrived she was greeted by a riot of noise and the delicious smell of roasting coffee. She stepped up to the counter and ordered a vanilla cappucino, then took a seat at the table nearest the window. She pulled her laptop out of her backpack, turned it on, and drummed her fingers against the table while she waited for it to finish powering up. Her order was called and she went to pick it up, and when she returned to her table there was some creep standing by it. He was tall, somewhere in the neighborhood of Steve's height. His dark hair was combed back, and he was dressed in jeans and a tight black T-shirt that showed off his muscular arms. He was, Cassie supposed, the sort of guy that most girls her age would have found attractive, but she just found him unsettling. He had a look about him that she didn't like. Like Steve, his presence had a certain strength and weight to it, but in Steve's case that weight was comforting and protective, whereas with this guy it was overwhelming and oppressive, almost as if he was standing too close to you and leaning over your shoulder besides.

"Can I help you with something?" Cassie asked.

"Only if you can give me your phone number," the creep replied. He flashed her a smile that he probably thought was charming, but actually came across as cold and predatory, a crocodile's smile. Cassie suppressed a shudder, all her senses on high alert. The fact that he was trying to hit on her did not bode well.

"I hate to be rude, but could you please go away?" Cassie asked. "I have work to do." That was a lie, but she was hoping the creep wouldn't be smart enough to figure that out.

"Why are you so eager to get rid of me?" the creep asked. Cassie was saved from having to answer by her phone dinging. She pulled it out and checked it. She had a new text from Simmons.

_Rogers and Barnes say hi_ , it read. _How's your afternoon going?_

_Not well_ , Cassie replied. _I'm being hit on by some creep._

_Oooh, sounds nasty_ , was the reply she received, and she found herself reading it in Simmons' voice, accent and all. _What's he look like?_

"Can I take your picture real quick?" Cassie asked, playing the part of a boy obsessed twenty-eight year old airhead. "My friend is never going to believe this." The creep smiled obligingly, that cold creepy snake's smile, and she suppressed another shudder. She snapped a picture of him and sent it off to Simmons. Simmons' response surprised her.

_Get out of there, Cassie_ , it read. _Get out of there right now._

_Why?_ Cassie asked. _What's wrong?_

_That's Grant Ward. If he's interested in you... well, let's just say you don't want him interested in you. He's HYDRA. He's probably after Barnes and is going to try to use you to get to him. For Barnes' safety and your own, you need to leave. Make an excuse and leave now, because once he gets his hands on you he's not going to let you go._

"I've got to go," Cassie said abruptly, trusting Simmons with her life. She stood and gathered up her things. "My boyfriend just texted me. He wants to meet." Without waiting for Ward's reply, she walked out of the coffee shop as calmly as she could manage, ran around the corner, and threw herself against a wall.

_What do I do now?_  she asked Simmons. _Do I go back to the base?_

_No_ , Simmons replied. _Our one advantage right now is that he doesn't know where we are, but if he knows what you look like he can follow you here. Keeping both you and Barnes safe is the number one priority  right now. If he doesn't have anyone watching your apartment, stay there and don't leave for the next couple of days. If he does, find a hotel to stay at until your time off is over, then come back here. Don't answer the door for anyone, under any circumstances, and whatever you do, don't answer phone calls from any number you don't recognize._

_Alright_ , Cassie wrote. _Be sure to tell Steve and James what's going on, but try not to worry them too much._

_I'll do my best_ , Simmons replied. Cassie sighed and turned off her phone, in case Ward or any cronies he might have had some way to track it. She reached her apartment building and, after watching it from a safe distance away for forty-five minutes, was relieved to find it and the street in front of it HYDRA free.

_Great,_ Cassie thought once she had entered her apartment and locked the door. _Now I get to stare at the same four walls for the next two days. What fun._

Two days later, when Cassie returned to the base, she found Steve and James waiting for her. The moment she stepped out of her car they rushed her and wrapped her in a hug. Being bear hugged by two super soldiers at once was only slightly less overwhelming than being run over by a semi truck.

"Woah guys, what's going on?" she asked, pulling away.

"Simmons told us about what happened with Ward, "James said in a rush. "We were so worried about you!"

"I'm glad you're okay," Steve said solemnly. "I've lost too many friends to HYDRA."

"Yeah, I'm glad I'm okay too," Cassie replied awkwardly. "Let's find something productive to do. I've been stuck inside my apartment for the past three days, and if I don't do something mentally stimulating I swear I'll go insane." James and Steve laughed and hugged her again, less forcefully this time, and they went into the base together.


	14. Chapter 14

"Cassie?" Bucky asked. Her door was ajar, but he knocked anyway.

"Hello James!" Cassie said brightly, smiling at him. "What's on your mind?"

"My sister..." Bucky said hesitantly. "Do you know if she's still alive?"

"Not off the top of my head," Cassie replied, "but let me text Skye real quick. She's a genius at finding that sort of information." Bucky nodded. Cassie dashed off a quick text message and waited. A moment later, her phone dinged.

"Skye says yes," she said, reading off the screen. "Apparently she's been living in a retirement home for the past couple of years. SHIELD has the address on file for some reason. Would you like me to take you there?" Bucky swallowed dryly. When he was finally able to speak, his voice came out as a hoarse whisper.

"Yes," he said. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Yes."

"Alright," Cassie replied. "Let me just tell Steve and Simmons where we're going. I'll be right back."

The ride from the base was an awkward one. Other than to read her the directions she had given him from time to time, Cassie and Bucky hardly spoke. Bucky wasn't happy with this arrangement. He needed something to take his mind off of his anxiety and had to settle for wringing his hands in his lap. They pulled up to a sprawling cream colored building. A sign at the entrance to the parking lot read _Oak Ridge Retirement Home_.

"Seems like a pretty nice place," Cassie said, peering through her front windshield as she pulled into a parking space. Bucky nodded, too nervous to form a verbal response. They entered the building and were met by a receptionist sitting at her desk.

"May I help you?" she asked, looking up from her computer screen at them.

"Yes. I... I'm here to see Rebecca Barnes," Bucky said. The receptionist brightened.

"Do you mean Mrs. Proctor?" she asked. When Bucky nodded, she said "That's wonderful! She hardly ever gets visitors, and when she does they're usually people who want to talk about her dead brother."

"What sort of people is that?" Cassie asked curiously.

"Oh, you know," the receptionist said dismissively, "journalists, history buffs, kids doing projects for school, that sort of thing. What's your relation to Mrs. Proctor, if you don't mind me asking?" Bucky hesitated. He couldn't say he was her brother. The receptionist would never believe that-he didn't look old enough.

"I'm her grandnephew," he finally said. "My grandpa Joey was her brother."

"And your name is?" the receptionist asked.

"James Barnes," Bucky replied.

"I see," the receptionist said. "Were you named after the brother who died?" Bucky nodded. The receptionist turned to Cassie and asked "What about you?"

  
"I'm James' therapist," Cassie replied with a deceptively straight face. "I'm here to make sure he doesn't get violent." This statement had the effect Cassie must have intended- the receptionist looked startled and didn't ask any more questions.

  
"Right this way," she said shakily. She stepped out from behind her desk and led them through a maze of identical corridors, each one lined on both sides with doors that all looked exactly like the ones next to them. The receptionist stopped in front of one and knocked on it gently.

"Mrs. Proctor?" she asked.

"What is it?" came the voice from inside. Bucky felt his stomach clench. It sounded older and frailer than he remembered, but it was definitely his sister's voice.

"Your grandnephew and his therapist are here to see you," the receptionist said. Bucky held his breath, waiting. There was a pause, then Rebecca said, "Send them in."

The receptionist opened the door and gestured for Bucky and Cassie to enter the room.

"Take all the time you need," she said, and disappeared back down the maze of corridors. Bucky hesitated. Cassie touched his arm gently. He looked at her, and she nodded encouragingly. Bucky took a deep breath and pushed the door farther open.

"Becky?" he asked, entering the room. Rebecca was sitting on her bed, a sketchbook in her hand. Her hair had turned gray and her face was wrinkled, but she was still very much the sister Bucky remembered. The sight of her brought a flood of memories that he would have to remember to write down in his notepad later.

"Nobody's called me Becky in years," Rebecca said. She squinted, studying him. "Who are you, anyway? You sure as hell aren't my grandnephew. Joey doesn't have any grandchildren, and all of Cecil's grandkids are girls."

"It's me," Bucky said. He cleared his throat nervously. "It's Jimmy." Rebecca started to shake her head, but then recognition dawned on her face.

"Jimmy!" she cried, dropping her sketchbook and throwing her arms around him. Out of the corner of his eye, Bucky saw Cassie pick up the dropped sketchbook and flip through it appreciatively before setting it on Rebecca's nightstand.

"Jimmy! We thought you were dead!" Rebecca said, pulling back. Her face grew angry and she repeated "We thought you were dead!" and smacked Bucky angrily upside the head. He felt the Winter Soldier stir just beneath the surface and pushed him down. He didn't really want to let him kill his sister.

"Goddamn it Jimmy, what the hell is wrong with you?" Rebecca yelled. "Do you have any idea what thinking you were dead did to our family?! We had a funeral for you, for Christ's sake! Mom and Peggy cried on each other's shoulders! Why the hell didn't you tell us you were okay?!"

"Becky... I-I couldn't," Bucky stammered.

"Bullshit you couldn't!" Rebecca snapped. "And to think that all this time I was mad at Steve when I should have been mad at you!" Bucky stared at her, not really sure how he was supposed to respond to that.

"Why don't you look any older?" Rebecca asked, her tone still angry. "And what the hell happened to your arm?"

"It's...it's a long story," Bucky said.

"You've got some very nice drawings in that sketchbook," Cassie interjected, a voice of calm and reason among the chaos. 

"Eh, I'm rusty," Rebecca said, her demeanor softening. "And I'll never be as good as Steve was. Now he had some real talent."

"Has," Bucky corrected quietly, too quietly for Rebecca to hear.

"Did Steve teach you to draw?" Cassie asked. Bucky couldn't tell if she was genuinely interested or if she was just asking to calm Rebecca down.

"Yeah," Rebecca said. "How did you know?"

"Because I know him," Cassie replied. That made Rebecca hesitate for a second, but then she nodded and said," Of course you do. How silly of me to think that Steve would let Jimmy go anywhere without him. Are you really Jimmy's therapist?"

"Sort of," Cassie said. "Officially, I'm a consultant for SHIELD, but my current assignment is to help James. He's got multiple personality disorder, and let me just tell you that you really don't want to meet his other personality."

"I see," Rebecca said, her voice subdued. "Is there any chance of his um... other personality coming out right now?" Cassie shook her head.

"He only shows himself if James is feeling threatened," she explained, "which, considering his present company, isn't very likely to happen at the moment." Rebecca smiled. Silence fell between them. Muffled sobbing could be heard from somewhere nearby.\

"Should we be worried about that?" Cassie asked.

"Oh, that's just Peggy," Rebecca replied sadly. "Sometimes I'm not sure who that poor woman misses more, her husband or Steve. She had such a brilliant mind. It's a shame what happened to her, though I suppose it's her loved ones I feel sorry for more than anything."

"What do you mean?" Cassie wanted to know.

"She has Alzheimer's," Rebecca said. She seemed surprised that Cassie didn't know that already. "Steve's visited her a couple of times- didn't he tell you that?"

"It never came up," Cassie said, "but then again, I never asked him about Peggy. I figured he probably wasn't ready to talk about her yet, and it wasn't my business to pry. If he wanted to talk about her, he would."

"That's nice of you," Rebecca said. "I wish people would extend me the same courtesy when it comes to Jimmy. All anyone wants to talk about is what he and the Howling Commandos did during the war, and never mind the fact that I was in it too."

"Really?" Cassie asked. "I didn't know that."

"Oh yes," Rebecca replied. "I was a combat nurse. I had to help Jimmy patch up Steve all the time, so I figured I might as well put those skills to good use."

"Sounds fascinating," Cassie said. "However, we're here so James can talk to you, not me. If you don't mind, I think I'll go try and talk to Peggy. Do you know where her room is?"

"Of course. It's three rooms down from mine," Rebecca said. Cassie thanked her and went to leave. As she was closing the door, Bucky turned to her and mouthed _Thank you._  She smiled, nodded, then closed the door and was gone.

"So," Rebecca said. "How come you haven't aged? And what's with that arm?" She tapped a forefinger against Bucky's left arm to illustrate her point, producing a dull metallic clanking sound.

"You remember when I got captured during the battle of Azzano?" Bucky asked?

"Of course," Rebecca said. "I thought Mom was going to collapse when I gave her the news."

"Yeah," Bucky replied lamely. "Well, HYDRA was trying to create their own super soldier, and they had to start from scratch because they'd killed the inventor of the original serum. Just my luck, I got pneumonia, so they decided to use me as a test subject. Well, actually, I was the last person they used as a test subject-they couldn't manage to get the formula right until they got to me, so every test subject before me had died. That's how I managed to survive the fall from the train- their super soldier serum made my body stronger and tougher and accelerated my healing process, so I was able to survive things that would kill an ordinary person, but even I wasn't able to walk away from that unscathed. I lost my left arm in the fall-well, actually I only lost this much of it-" he gestured from the crook of his elbow to his hand to demonstrate-"HYDRA just decided to take the rest of it off when they found me in the ravine and gave me this one. After that, they started wiping my memory, and they tortured me relentlessly, so much that my consciousness split, producing the Winter Soldier- the other personality that Cassie talked about. Eventually the Winter Soldier took control of me, which was fine with HYDRA. He was exactly what they needed and wanted-a cold, merciless killer who always followed his order exactly and never once questioned his handlers. But anyway, that's why I haven't aged-HYDRA would place the Winter Soldier in cryostasis whenever he completed a mission, slowing his ageing process even more than their super soldier serum already did so they could get as much use out of him as possible for as long as possible."

"Isn't that kind of like what happened to Steve?" Rebecca asked.

"Sort of," Bucky replied. "Steve was frozen constantly in the Arctic for sixty-six years, rather than off and on in a cryostasis chamber for sixty-nine, but the effect was the same." Rebecca took Bucky's hands in her own. Her dark brown eyes, so very like their mother's, stared into his.

"I'm sorry I was angry with you," she said. "I know now that it wasn't your fault. I should have realized that you would have told us you were okay if there had been any way for you to do so." Bucky shook his head vigorously.

"No Becky," he said. " _I'm_ sorry. I was weak. I should have fought harder against the Winter Soldier. I should have-" Rebecca interrupted him by wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tightly.

"Stop blaming yourself for things that aren't your fault," she mumbled in his ear. "You're as bad as Steve." Bucky laughed quietly at that. A knock sounded on the door. Rebecca and Bucky broke apart.

"That's probably Cassie," Bucky said, "I've got to go." He leaned down and kissed his sister on the forehead.

"I love you Becky," he whispered.

"I love you too Jimmy," Rebecca replied, smiling up at him. Hearing her say that, when he hadn't in so long, brought tears to his eyes. He was wiping them away as he left the room to meet Cassie in the hallway. She looked startled when she saw them.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," Bucky said hoarsely. "It's just... I haven't seen my sister in a while, so it was... it was kind of emotional." Cassie nodded in understanding.

"What did you guys talk about?" she asked, heading back the way they had come.

"Everything," Bucky stated simply.

"That's good," Cassie said. "It must have been nice to get all that out in the open, clear the air." Bucky nodded.

"How'd your conversation with Peggy go?" he asked.

"Not too well," Cassie replied sadly. "I don't think she was, well... lucid. I tried telling her how Steve was doing, but she kept insisting that Steve is dead,so..." She trailed off. They had reached the lobby by this point. 

"You two have a wonderful day!" the receptionist called after them as they headed toward the entrance.

"Thanks! You too!" Cassie said in reply, and then they were outside in the late afternoon sunshine. There was a chill in the air that Bucky hadn't noticed before. They had climbed into Cassie's car and were ready to leave before either of them spoke.

"So, where to now?" Cassie asked. "Back to the base, or..."

"The base is fine," Bucky said. Cassie nodded.

"The base it is then," she said. They drove in silence, just as they had on the way there, but this time Bucky didn't mind. He was content.


	15. Chapter 15

Quite by accident, Cassie found herself meeting James in the mess hall for breakfast. She walked in and there he was, sitting at a table by himself, a steaming mug of coffee in front of him. Grabbing breakfast-toast, bacon, eggs, and coffee-for herself, she sat down next to him.

"You take your coffee black?" she asked. James nodded.

"As black as my soul," he joked.

"Well, it's nice to see you're in a good mood," Cassie said. "Where're you headed this morning?"

"To the gym," James replied. "Steve suggested that physical activity might help me take my mind off of some of the things I've been dealing with lately." Cassie frowned at that but didn't bother to point out that was only a temporary solution- as soon as you stopped moving all your problems came rushing back to confront you again- and instead said, "I'll go with you. I really haven't been getting enough exercise. I used to go for a run everyday, but with all the work I've been doing here that's been kind of impossible." James nodded.

"I'll be glad for the company," he said.

"Good," Cassie replied. "Then it's settled. Let's just finish our breakfasts first, shall we?" James laughed, a sound that Cassie liked to hear.

"Of course," he said. They fell into the companionable silence of people sharing a meal. Cassie scraped the last bits of egg off her plate and looked pointedly at James. He held up a hand in a _wait_  gesture. After a moment he stood, pushing his chair back as he did so. Cassie pushed it back in on her way out. She followed James to an area in the center of the base where all the main corridors met. There were dozens, maybe hundreds, of smaller corridors branching off of the main ones. Cassie turned around in a circle. She had only been to the gym once before, but if she remembered correctly...

"It's this way," she said, pointing. James nodded and followed after her. The corridor they entered was narrow, almost uncomfortably so. They passed a door marked _Storeroom Twelve-A_  and she relaxed. That meant they were on the right track. If they got lost in here, it might be a while before anyone found them. James came up next to her, so that now they were walking side by side. Above them, a ceiling light flickered. James stopped abruptly.

"Cassie..." he said. There was a warning note in his voice.

"It's fine," Cassie reassured him. "The bulb's probably about to burn out. Besides, the wiring in this place is what, like seventy years old? Things are bound to go wonky from time to time." James didn't exactly look reassured, but he nodded and they continued  on their way. A short while later, the lights flickered again, but this time it was all of them instead of just one. James and Cassie faltered.

"I suppose that's just things going wonky, huh?" James asked sarcastically. For some reason, he sounded like he was close to panic.

"I don't know," Cassie replied. They've never all flickered at once before. Wait... you're not afraid of the dark, are you?"

"I _am not_  afraid of the dark!" James snapped. Then, more quietly, he said, "I'm afraid of what I might do in the dark."

"Oh," Cassie said, her voice subdued. "The Soldier?" She didn't bother to call him "the Winter Soldier". It wasn't necessary. James knew exactly who she meant.

  
"I can hear him in there, whispering," James said, tapping a forefinger against his temple. "Whenever he thinks my hold is slipping, he starts taunting me. He starts talking about how he's going to take away everything and everyone I care about, and I won't be able to stop him."

  
"I didn't realize he was so vocal," Cassie said. "I thought he only came out when you were feeling threatened."

  
"He didn't used to be," James replied," but since I lost control and he almost killed Steve he's been getting stronger. Bolder. I'm afraid it's going to go back to the way it was when HYDRA had me, and he'll have control all the time." Cassie reached for his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

  
"We're not going to let that happen," she said resolutely. "There's a solution here somewhere. We just have to find it." James nodded shakily. They went on up the corridor. The lights flickered a third time. They switched off for a second, then came back on. Cassie stopped walking and let go of James' hand. They held their breath and waited. The lights flickered and went out, plunging them into darkness. Something brushed against Cassie's arm, and she shrieked at the touch of cold metal.

  
 _That was James_ , she realized. He had to be somewhere nearby. That much was certain. It was impossible to see in the dark, narrow corridor, but she could sense him by the sound of his ragged breathing and by his scent-he smelled of metal and cordite, which was something she'd never noticed before. The notion that your other senses became hyperaware when you were deprived of your sight was something that Cassie had never put much stock in, but now it came all too clear just how true it was.

"James?" she said. "James, listen to me. It's going to be fine. The Winter Soldier is not going to take over. I'm going to text Simmons and figure this out. Okay?" Silence.

"James?" she asked.

"Okay," James' voice came out of the darkness, reassuring her slightly.

 _James and I are in a corridor_ , she wrote to Simmons. _The lights have gone out. What's going on?_ Simmons' reply came an instant later.

 _The power's out in the whole base_ , she'd written. _Fitz is working on fixing it._

 _Alright_ , Cassie replied. _Is Steve with you?_

_No, I think he's in his room. Why?_

_Because James is on the verge of panic right now, and I think it might calm him down a little if he knows that Steve is okay._

_Okay. I'm checking now...yeah. Rogers is in his room. He's fine._

"Steve is okay, James," Cassie said. It felt weird addressing him when she could see him, but she pressed on. "He's in his room. He's fine." She heard the pace of James' breathing slow. He sounded a little less like he was hyperventilating now. Cassie nodded once, pleased that her theory had been proved right. She reached out behind her until her fingers brushed concrete-the wall of the corridor. Placing her palm flat against it, she slid down to a sitting position on the floor, her back against the wall. She heard a rustling sound that she assumed meant James had joined her. A hand found hers and gripped it tightly. She tried not to flinch at the touch of cold metal. She laid her other hand over the top of James'. She tapped his hand, producing a dull metallic clanking sound, to let him know that she was there, since she assumed that his left hand, the one she was holding, couldn't actually register touch.

"Tell me a story," she said. 

"What?" James asked.

"Tell me a story," she repeated. "Oh, I know! Tell me about how you and Steve met! I've always been curious to hear that one." In the dark, the only way for her to discern James' reaction was by his explosive exhale.

"Well, it was my ninth birthday," he said. "I was leaving school when I heard a fight going on behind the building. I went around to investigate, and there was this scrawny little blond kid getting beat up on by somebody at least three times his size."

"Was that Steve?" Cassie asked.

"Are you going to let me tell the story?" James said. Cassie smiled imagining his exasperated expression.

"Yes," she said. "Sorry."

"You're right," James said. "It was Steve. I knew him because he got bullied constantly, you know, because he was smaller and weaker than everybody else, not to mention the fact that he got sick all the time, and I think by that time I was just sick of everybody always picking on him all the time. Anyway, I punched the guy who was beating up on him in the face and walked him home.At the time, I don't think either of us where expecting to end up where we did."

"No one ever is," Cassie said. "Nobody meets their best friend expecting them to be their best friend. It just sort of happens." Then were silent for a while, then James said, "Your turn."

"Oh come on," Cassie protested. "I don't have anything that good."

"Why don't you tell me how your met _your_  best friend?" James asked.

"Because I don't remember how we met," Cassie explained. "It was just sort of 'Boom. We're friends now.'" They lapsed into silence again. After a moment, Cassie asked "James?"

"Yeah?" James replied.

"Are you okay?" Cassie queried. Silence, then, "Yeah. Telling you that story really helped."

"I thought it might. Anything from the Winter Soldier?"

"Nope. He's been oddly quiet since the power went out."

"Maybe he dislikes the dark as much as you do." James scoffed at that.

"I doubt that," he said bitterly. "There's a reason why my uniform was black, you know."

"I'm sorry," Cassie said quietly.

"You don't need to be sorry," James said. "You couldn't possibly have known." Cassie shook her head.

"That's not what I meant," she said. "I am sorry, James, for what they did to you. I am sorry that they hurt you so much that you don't trust yourself anymore. Nobody should have to go through the things you went through, and I admire your courage in facing your demons. More than anything though, I admire your strength."

"No," James said. "You're wrong. I'm not strong or courageous. I'm weak and I'm terrified, and I don't know if I can do this anymore."

"Yes you are," Cassie insisted. "And yes you can. I believe in you, and Steve believes in you, but you know what? That's not enough. _You_  have to believe in yourself."

"I don't know if I can," James said. "What if the Winter Soldier is right about me? What if I _am_  weak?"

"He's not," Cassie said firmly. "You're the strongest person I've ever met, James. You really are. I promise you, I'm doing everything I can to help you. I know there's a solution to this somewhere. I just haven't found it yet."

"Well, that's hardly reassuring,"James said.

"Why not?" Cassie asked. "Just because I haven't found it _yet_  doesn't mean I won't. I'm a smart girl, James. I'll figure it out."

"I hope so," James said. "For your sake as well as mine." Cassie sighed but otherwise didn't respond. They sat in silence. With a crackling buzz, the lights switched back on, flooding them with illumination. Cassie let go of James' hand and leaped to her feet.

"Thank god for Leo Fitz!" she cried, dancing exuberantly in a circle. James laughed, and there was an odd expression on his face when she looked back at him.

"What?" she demanded. James just shook his head. She tried again. "Seriously, what?"

"Nothing," James said. "It's just that sometimes you remind me of my sister."

"I sincerely hope that's a compliment," Cassie said, crossing her arms.

"Of course," James replied with a slight nod of his head. Cassie glanced up and down the corridor.

"You know what?" she said. "I don't think anyone will blame us if we don't make it to the gym today. Let's just go tomorrow."

"Sounds good to me," James replied. Cassie helped him to his feet, and they were off, back to the base's equivalent of human civilization.


	16. Chapter 16

Someone knocked on Steve's door.

"Come in," he said. His door swung inward, revealing Cassie on the other side of it. She stood in the doorway, her arms wrapped around herself, and made no move to enter.

"What's going on Cassie?" Steve asked.

"I was with James yesterday during the power outage," Cassie said. "He said that the Winter Soldier has been getting bolder since the last time he had control. He talks to James almost all the time now." Steve sat forward.

"Bucky's getting worse?" he asked. Cassie nodded fearfully.

"It would appear that way," she said. "James is strong, but I don't know how much longer he can hold out. I always thought I'd have more time..."

"The Winter Soldier has to be stopped," Steve said forcefully. "Now, before he can erase my best friend again."

"I know," Cassie said meekly. "Believe me, I know. James is terrified that the Winter Soldier is going to take control permanently, and I feel like such an idiot because I know the solution's right in front of my face, but I can't see it. I've looked at this problem from every angle I can think of, and I still can't figure out how to help him." She put her face in her hands. Her shoulders shook, and Steve realized she was crying. He leapt up from his chair, put an arm around her shoulders, and hugged her tightly until her crying quieted.

"Thanks," she said, pulling away from him and wiping her eyes. "You're a very comforting person, you know that?"

"I try," Steve replied with a grin. "I've had quite a bit of practice, so..." He trailed off. Cassie nodded but didn't press the matter, and for that Steve was grateful. He wasn't really in the mood to talk about having to console Rebecca on the day they'd lost Bucky. They were both silent for a while. Cassie shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

"I-I should go," she finally said, hesitant and nervous. "I've got to go do some research. Maybe that will help me figure out how to help James."

" Yeah,of course," Steve said. "Let me know if and when you find anything."

"Absolutely," Cassie replied. "You'll be the first person I tell. I would never dream of doing anything to James without your knowledge and approval." Steve nodded gratefully. Cassie leaned in for one last hug, then darted away. Steve watched her go, wondering if this was how Bucky had felt on those rare occasions when he'd allowed him to go somewhere without him.


	17. Chapter 17

Bucky caught Simmons on her way to the lab.

"Have you seen Cassie?" he asked. Simmons shook her head.

"I went to check on her earlier today," she said," and she told me to go away and leave her alone because she had research to do. I can't imagine on what, but she won't leave her room, not even to eat, and she won't let anyone in either." Bucky frowned. A lot of times he wanted to hide himself away in his room, but Cassie just didn't seem like the kind of person who did that. She was too bright and happy and cheerful. As Simmons continued on her way to the lab, he resolved to investigate the situation himself.

"Cassie?" he asked, rapping on her door.

"Go away James," Cassie replied.

"Can I come in?" Bucky asked.

"No," Cassie said. "I have research to do."

"What sort of research?" Bucky asked.

"Research to help me figure out how to solve your problem," Cassie told him irritably. "Now go away." Bucky nodded even though Cassie couldn't see him do so and left. He tried the same tactic again over the next several hours, and each time Cassie's response was exactly the same-"Go away. No. Leave me alone." The last time he tried it, Cassie yelled "For God's sake James! I'm never going to be able to help you control the Winter Soldier if you keep interrupting me!" Bucky took this as his cue to quit and leave Cassie to her research and her solitude, though to do disquieted him greatly. She seemed to hold herself personally responsible for the fact that the Winter Soldier was growing stronger, though if the blame for that rested on anyone then as far as Bucky was concerned it rested on him and him alone.

 _That's right_ , the Winter Soldier said snidely, _and you can't it, can you Barnes? I can feel your fear, you know. Your weakness. You're going to lose. The next time I get control, I'm not giving it back. I'm going to erase you, and then I'm going to take everyone and everything you care about away from you._

"No," Bucky growled under his breath.

 _No?_  the Winter Soldier mocked.

"No," Bucky repeated. "I'm stronger than you think. I'll stop you."

 _Do you really believe that?_ the Winter Soldier asked, and withdrew before Bucky had a chance to answer.


	18. Chapter 18

The Winter Soldier woke in James Barnes' bed, filled with  calculating, deadly purpose. He leaped swiftly from the bed, not one to waste time when there was work to be done. Now was the optimal time to strike. Rogers always rose early-he was a soldier, and that was what soldiers did- and he was likely to be the only person awake at this hour, which meant few if any witnesses. Of course, he ran the risk of running into Cassie, who also tended to get up fairly early, but the Soldier was confident that he could pretend to be Barnes long enough to suit his purposes. He eased Barnes' door open, slipped through it, and closed it carefully so that the only sound it made was the barely audible _snick_  of the latch engaging. The Winter Soldier jogged through the base, searching for the Weapons Storage room, silently cursing the slap of his bare feet on the concrete floor. It wasn't as though he thought the sound would give him away, but loose cotton pajammas and bare feet weren't exactly conducive to this sort of mission. He would have preferred combat boots and his uniform, especially since that would have made him better armed in case he encountered anyone before he could get to Rogers, but oh well. Beggars couldn't be choosers. The Soldier came to an intersection and whipped his head around, suppressing a growl of frustration. Why the hell didn't they ever put up any signs in these places?

 _For exactly this reason_ , Barnes said in the back of the Soldier's mind. _No one is going to be able to navigate this base without inside information, which you're not going to get for me since_ I _don't know where the damn thing is._  The Winter Soldier wasn't in the mood to argue with Barnes, so he gagged him rather than listen to his irritating comments. He chose a corridor at random and ran down it. It dead ended in a door marked with the SSR's eagle and the words _Weapons Storage_  in bold white letters-the very room that the Soldier had been searching for. He smiled cruelly and broke the lock with an expert twist of the doorknob. The door swung open, revealing the pitch black of the room beyond it. The Soldier fumbled for a light switch. Finding one, he flipped it, and the room was flooded with brilliant white fluorescent light, revealing the racks of weapons that filled it. The Soldier surveyed the selection with a sort of calculating glee, evaluating the best weapon for the task at hand. He would have preferred, of course, to shoot Rogers in the head from a long distance away with a sniper rifle,but, failing that, he thought he wouldn't mind putting a bullet in his stomach and leaving him to slowly bleed to death. For this purpose, he selected a small, snub-nosed pistol, which would be easy to conceal even given the unfortunate fact that the pants he was wearing had no pockets. As he reached for it, he felt Barnes pushed against the mental barriers he's put up to keep him under control. The Soldier glared and shoved him back. There was a pause, then Barnes pushed against the barriers again, harder this time, and repeatedly. 

 _Why I can't I do anything?_   the Soldier heard him mutter. _Why can't I stop him?_

 _Because you're not strong enough, and you never will be_ , the Soldier told him, and, with one final shove, got him under control again. With that issue resolved, at least for now, the Winter Soldier made his way to the recreation area, which he judged to be the most likely place to find Rogers at this time of morning.

The Winter Soldier could feel the gun he carried concealed under his shirt as he approached the recreation area, the weight of it, the touch of cold metal against his skin. Rogers was reading a book when he entered, and glanced up at his approach.

"Hey Bucky," he said, smiling warmly. The Winter Soldier felt a surge of anger threaten to overtake him.

"I'm not Bucky," he said, his voice emotionless. Rogers' eyes widened. He dropped his book and ran. In a flash, the Winter Soldier was on him, pulling out the gun in a blur of motion. He pressed it against Rogers' stomach, directly above his abdominal artery, and Rogers froze. The Winter Soldier tried to pull the trigger but he couldn't move his hand. He struggled, trying to force his fingers to flex, but to no avail.

 _Damn it Barnes!_  he snarled. _Cut it out!I_

"No," Bucky growled, forcing his way past the barriers that imprisoned him. He could feel the Winter Soldier taking back control, and managed to grind out "Steve, run!" Steve started to back away, his blue-grey eyes, the color of a partly cloudy sky, trained on Bucky's. He was studying his face, searching for something, though Bucky wasn't sure what. With an angry, savage yell, the Winter Soldier threw Barnes back into his prison. The gun went off with a _bang!_ and Rogers collapsed.

 _No!_ Barnes screamed, pounding at the walls that held him, but it was too late. The Soldier had control, and never again was he going to give Barnes the chance to take it away.

**...**

The sharp report of a gunshot jolted Cassie awake. She leaped from her bed, heart pounding in her chest, breath ragged in her throat. She opened her door and stuck her head cautiously out into the hallway. The base was quiet, eerily so, quiet as a tomb. She slipped out of her room and went creeping through the base, filled with the some inexplicable sense that she was in danger. She approached the entrance to the recreation area and screamed. Steve was lying on the floor in a pool of blood, a bullet wound in his stomach. She dropped to her knees at his side and pressed her hands over the wound, trying to put pressure on it. Blood seeped up from between her fingers. She was failing. She was failing, and Steve was going to die.

"Help!" she screamed. "Somebody help!"


	19. Chapter 19

Steve woke in agony, feeling like somebody was repeatedly jabbing a white hot knife into his stomach. He sat up, fighting off a wave of dizziness, and examined his surroundings. The bed he was lying in had starched white sheets that crinkled crisply when he moved. An antiseptic smell hung in the air, assaulting his nose with its chemical odor. The room was silent except for the sound of his own breathing and the buzz of fluorescent lights. The floor of the room was linoleum, the walls concrete. So he was still in the base then, in a hospital room of some kind. He just wished he could remember how he got there.

A sigh drew his attention to one corner of the room, where Cassie was sleeping in a folding chair. Her hands were covered in dried blood-his blood, he realized, glancing down and noticing the square white bandage on his stomach, stained almost completely red.

"Cassie?" he asked. His voice seemed unbearably loud in the quiet, still room. Cassie stirred, blinking blearily at him.

"What happened?" he asked."How did I get here?"

"I don't know," Cassie said. "I heard a gunshot, so I went to investigate. I found you lying on the floor, and there was so much blood... I thought you were going to die." Silence fell. Steve had no idea what to say to that.

"James is gone," Cassie said suddenly. "I mean, we know he's in the base somewhere, but nobody can find him."

"What?" Steve demanded. "You lost him? Again? I have to find him. Now." He got to his feet. Fresh pain flared in his stomach, making him so light-headed he almost fell over. Cassie leaped from her chair and guided him gently to a sitting position, supporting him with a hand on his forearm.

"You'll do no such thing," she said, adopting a scolding tone. "Look at you. You're not even in a fit state to stand."

A memory of the Winter Soldier floated to the surface of Steve's consciousness. The Winter Soldier was pointing a gun at him, but he could see Bucky in there somewhere, fighting the Soldier, and Bucky told him to run and then the Winter Soldier let out and an angry yell and shot him and-that was the last thing he remembered. He suddenly felt as though there was an iron band around his chest, preventing him from taking in enough air, as if the asthma that had plagued him for most of his life had somehow reappeared.

"It was the Winter Soldier," he said, trying to catch his breath. "The Winter Soldier's the one who shot me." Cassie bit her lip, her eyebrows creased in a worried frown.

"That's not good," she said, which seemed to be stating the obvious a little bit, but Steve didn't bother pointing that out,"but it does provide a useful segway into what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Which is?" Steve asked.

"I figured out how to help James learn to control the Winter Soldier," Cassie said.

"And that is?" Steve asked, getting a little impatient now.

"We have to put him in a situation where he feels threatened," Cassie said. "The only problem is that I'm not very threatening, and he's obviously not threatened by you...oh." Cassie's eyes widened.

"Oh!" she exclaimed.

"What?" Steve asked. "What is it?"

"Well," Cassie said, "Tony Stark hacked into SHIELD's secure files, right?"

"Yeah," Steve replied cautiously, not sure where she was going with this.

"Then do you think he knows that the Winter Soldier killed his parents?" Cassie asked.

"Cassie, no," Steve said fiercely. "You can't. Tony doesn't...well, he can't exactly control his emotions very well. He might kill Bucky."

"That's sort of the point, Steve," Cassie replied testily. "Tony Stark is the only thing the Winter Soldier could possibly consider a credible threat. There is no other way." Steve huffed and threw himself back against his pillow. He crossed his arms and glared at Cassie. She sighed and rolled her eyes at him.

"Fine," she said. "Since you're obviously not going to listen to me right now, I'm going to go find James, and we can talk about this when I get back."

"Actually," she added, looking down at her hands, "I'm going to go wash my hands, and _then_ I'm going to go find James." Steve nodded. Cassie got up from her chair and went to the door. Steve rolled over on his side, a grunt of pain escaping him before he could stop it. He heard the door swing shut behind him, and then he was alone.


	20. Chapter 20

"James?" 

Cassie's voice, coming from the hallway.

"In here," Bucky reluctantly replied. The door to Storeroom Twelve-A swung open, throwing a wedge of white light into the room.

"James, what are you doing sitting here in the dark?" Cassie asked, flipping the lightswitch. 

"I'm hiding," Bucky said irritably, squinting against the sudden bright light. "Isn't it obvious?" Cassie sighed but didn't respond. Bucky looked her up and down. She appeared to be unhurt, but he noticed that her fingernails were rimmed with red.

"That wouldn't happen to be A-positive blood laced with super soldier serum, would it?" he asked. Cassie glanced down at her hands and turned away from him without answering.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Bucky said.

"Steve's in the infirmary," Cassie said hastily, as if she were trying to apologize for something. "He's fine."

"I thought he might be, provided somebody found him in time," Bucky replied.

"Then why are you hiding?" Cassie asked. Bucky sighed.

"Of the people in this base other than me and Steve, how many have the healing factor of a super soldier?" he asked, keeping his voice carefully neutral.

"None," Cassie said in a small voice.

"Exactly," Bucky replied. "I can't control the Winter Soldier Cassie. That much is clear. What if the next person he hurts is someone who won't recover? What if the next person he tries to kill is you? What if he succeeds? It's not Steve I'm worried about. It's everybody else."

"You don't have to worry anymore James," Cassie said, clearly trying to be reassuring. "I know how to help you control the Winter Soldier. I have a plan."

"But?" Bucky asked because he knew there was one.

"But Steve is completely opposed to it," Cassie said. "He won't even let me try." Bucky snorted derisively. 

"And you think _I'm_ going to be able to convince him?" he asked. "You of all people should know how stubborn he is."

"Yes," Cassie argued, "but he listens to you. When he hears how you feel about this, he might change his mind." Bucky laughed, but there was no humor in it.

"There isn't a damn thing in heaven or hell that will budge Steve Rogers once his mind's made up," he said. Cassie sighed.

"Can you please at least try?" she pleaded. Bucky groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Fine," he said, "but don't say I didn't warn you." Cassie looked startled, as if she hadn't been expecting him to agree.

"Oh, um..." she stammered. She turned around in a circle, looking bewildered.

"After you," Bucky said, gesturing toward the door.

"Oh yeah," Cassie said distractedly. She wandered aimlessly out the door. Bucky followed behind her, leaving the door of Storeroom Twelve-A open behind them.


	21. Chapter 21

Steve was deep in conversation with Triplett when Cassie returned with James.

"Hey Triplett," she said. "What brings you here?"

"Hey Cassie," Triplett replied, turning to face her. "I thought it might be interesting to talk about my grandfather with somebody who knew him."

"And you couldn't do that earlier because?" Cassie asked.

"Neither of us had any time before," Triplett said. Cassie didn't bother to point out that Steve had plenty of free time-it was Triplett who was always busy.

"I'm pretty sure Steve needs to rest," she said.

"I'm fine, really," Steve put in. "He saved me from going crazy with boredom, to be honest." Cassie looked pointedly at him, trying to convey the idea that when she'd said "Steve needs to rest" she'd meant "I need to talk to him alone", but he didn't seem to get the hint. She sighed and said, "I can get your book for you if you want," deciding that subtlety maybe wasn't the best way to go about this. Steve looked startled.

"You know what I'm reading?" he asked.

"Well yeah," Cassie replied casually. "You dropped it on the floor in the recreation area. The Once and Future King, right?" Steve nodded. Cassie headed for the door, muttering "Stay here" to James on her way out.

Triplett had left by the time Cassie returned with Steve's book. She stopped at the foot of his bed and tossed it to him. He shifted to catch it and winced. James looked away, his gaze fixed on the floor. Cassie cleared her throat.

"So, about my plan..." she said.

"No," Steve replied angrily. "Absolutely not."

"It's the only way!" Cassie protested. "If we don't do it, James will never learn to control the Winter Soldier, and the next person the Soldier tries to kill might be me!" She saw Steve flinch at that. It was slight, but it was there.

"Please," she said, shifting to a pleading tone. Steve cut her off with a rapid shake of his head.

"No," he said. "It's reckless, it's dangerous, it might get _Bucky_ killed-"

"I don't even know what the plan is," James interjected quietly, almost too quietly for them to hear.

"She wants to bring Tony Stark here!" Steve shouted.

"The only way for you to learn to control the Winter Soldier is to put you in a situation where you feel threatened," Cassie told James carefully, "and Tony Stark is the only thing the Winter Soldier would consider a credible threat."

"And he'll come in here, guns blazing, and Bucky will wind up dead!" Steve yelled.

"For Christ's sake Steve, stop being so unreasonable!" Cassie snapped. "If there was any other option I'd take it, but you know as well as I do that there isn't! Just because you're Irish doesn't mean you have to be so goddamn stubborn!"

"I'm not being stubborn because I'm Irish," Steve countered furiously. "I'm being stubborn because you want to put my friend in danger!"

"Why can't you just accept that I know what I'm doing?" Cassie begged.

"Please Steve," James added. "Let her try. I don't... I don't want the Winter Soldier to hurt anyone else." Steve's gaze switched back and forth from James' face to Cassie's. He slumped against his pillow, clearly defeated.

"Fine," he growled, pinning Cassie with a glare, "but if Bucky gets killed I'm holding you personally responsible."

"Of course," Cassie said. "I'll go and ask Director Coulson to make some calls." She could feel Steve's eyes on her back as she walked out of the room, leaving him alone with James.


	22. Chapter 22

"Hey," Cassie said, leaning into the room.

"What do you want?" Steve asked.

"Tony Stark will be here in a few minutes," she said nervously. "I thought maybe, if you're feeling up to it, you might want to be there when he arrives."

"And why would I want to do that?" Steve asked, unable to stop hostility from creeping into his voice despite his best efforts. Cassie sighed and looked at the ground.

"You're really important to James," she said quietly, not meeting his eyes. "He gets so much of his strength from you. I thought if you were there it might help to... tip the scales in his favor, as it were. Besides, you have a greater chance than I do of stopping Tony if things get out of hand."

"Alright," Steve said, finding himself unable to argue with those points. "Just give me a second."

"Here," Cassie said, tossing a wadded up ball of fabric at him. He caught it and saw that it was a shirt. He raised a quizzical eyebrow at her.

"I didn't figure you wanted to confront Tony shirtless," she explained. He nodded and pulled the shirt on as he followed her out of the room.

They met Tony at the top of the ramp that led into the hangar. If he was surprised to see Steve, he didn't let on.

"Good afternoon Mr. Stark," Cassie said. "You came prepared, I see." She indicated Tony's armor with a wave of her hand.

"Of course," Tony replied smoothly. "Considering the circumstances, I would have been an idiot not to."

"You are many things, Mr. Stark, but an idiot is certainly not one of them," Cassie said graciously. "However, I should hope that this level of armament won't be necessary." Tony shrugged, which looked strange with his armor on.

"You never know," he said. Cassie bit her lip anxiously.

"Come on," she said. "I'll give you the grand tour." She jerked her head at Steve as they entered the main part of the base, indicating that he should walk behind them and keep an eye on Tony. Steve nodded and fell into step behind them, listening to Tony's heavy, clanking footsteps and Cassie's quicker, lighter ones. They were deep in conversation, with Cassie pointing different features of the base out to Tony. They reached the recreation area and Tony suddenly stopped dead.

"You!" he shouted angrily. Steve peered over Cassie's head and saw Bucky sitting on the couch, a book in his hand, frozen in shock and fear.

"You killed my parents!" Tony screamed.

"No. I didn't. I-I swear I didn't," Bucky stammered, shaking his head and backing away.

"Right," Tony said sarcastically. "You expect me to believe it was someone who looks exactly like you."

"Yes!" Bucky replied frantically. "It wasn't me. It-it was the Winter Soldier. Howard was... Howard was my friend. I would never hurt him. Please. You have to believe me."

"I should kill you right now," Tony growled, lifting his hand. The repulsor on his palm glowed ominously. "I should make you pay for what you've done." Steve saw Bucky twitch and shudder and knew what was coming even before he straightened and the Winter Soldier said, "Go ahead and kill me Stark. It won't change anything." Tony recoiled slightly. Steve was sure that wasn't the response he'd been expecting.

"James!" Cassie cried. The Winter Soldier turned to face her. "You have to fight him James! Now's your chance to make sure he never hurts anyone again! Fight him James! You can do this! I know you can!" The Winter Soldier jolted toward Steve.

"I know you're in there somewhere Buck," he said calmly, much more calmly than he felt, "and Cassie's right. You can do this. I believe in you."

"Steve, what the hell are you doing?" Tony demanded. "It doesn't matter who he used to be. He's not your friend anymore. He's nothing but a cold-blooded murderer, and he needs to be punished for his crimes."

"You're wrong Tony," Steve replied, "and even if you weren't, it's not your place to punish him or to decide that he needs to be punished at all."

"I thought you were all about justice," Tony retorted snidely.

"This isn't justice. This is vengeance," Steve said. "It's past time you learned the difference. Killing Bucky might make you feel better, but it won't serve any other purpose beyond that. It won't bring your parents back."

"And I suppose you're going to stop me, old man?" Tony asked.

"I will if you force me to," Steve replied. He ignored Tony's "old man" jab-it was one he'd heard many times before.

"Steve?" Bucky asked. His voice sounded almost...doubled. It was his voice, but layered underneath it was the creaky, emotionless rasp that Steve had come to associate with the Winter Soldier.

"I'm here Buck," Steve said.

"I-I don't know if I can control the Winter Soldier," Bucky said. "He's so close to the surface right now as it is... I don't think I'm strong enough."

"Of course you are," Steve replied. "You're the strongest person I know. I'm right here. We'll get through this." The ghost of a smile played with the corners of Bucky's mouth.

"Thanks," he said. "I-" He shuddered, cried out, and doubled over, cutting himself off mid-sentence. Tony leaped toward him, clearly seeking to take advantage of what he saw as a moment of weakness. His repulsor charged up with a high-pitched whine, one that sounded far too much like the sound produced by HYDRA's Tesseract powered energy weapons. With a blur of motion, Cassie stepped between him and Bucky. Steve resisted the urge to call out a warning, to stop her somehow.

"That's enough Mr. Stark," Cassie said evenly. "If you don't calm yourself I will be forced to call the Calvary to escort you out, and I don't think you want that." Steve had no idea who or what the Calvary might be, but Cassie had apparently made it sound ominous enough to convince Tony of the merits of a different course of action. He stepped away from Bucky and lowered his hand, his repulsor powering down with a quiet whir. Cassie knelt at Bucky's side, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"James," she said quietly. "What's wrong?"

"He's hurting me," Bucky replied, sounding as though he was forcing the words out."He's never caused me physical pain before. He really doesn't want to leave-I think he's punishing me for trying to get rid of him."

"I'm so sorry James," Cassie said empathetically. "I need you to keep fighting a little while longer. Steve and I... we'll help you. We're right here. We'll make sure you get through this with yourself and your sanity intact." Bucky nodded, his face contorted in a grimace of pain. Cassie took her hand off his shoulder but remained close to him, watching over him. Bucky straightened, suddenly and forcefully. He squared his shoulders, threw his head back, and screamed "Get out of my head!" with enough vehemence to make everyone watching jump back. He slumped forward, his frame wracked at sporadic intervals by shudders.

"James?" Cassie asked cautiously. Bucky slowly lifted his eyes to hers. "Is-is he gone? Is the Winter Soldier gone." There was a long pause.

"Yes," Bucky finally said. He sounded exhausted. Steve could only imagine the amount of energy he must have expended to finally defeat the Winter Soldier. Cassie let out a cry of exaltation and threw her arms around Bucky hard enough to send them both toppling backwards. Cassie quickly scramble off of him, stammering apologies and blushing as red as a tomato.

"Oh ah..." she said. "A little help here Steve?" Grinning broadly, Steve went over to her, grabbed her hand, and hauled her upright. Once she was firmly back on her feet, he turned and did the same for Bucky.

"You did it James!" Cassie exclaimed happily, hugging Bucky again. "You did it! I'm so proud of you!" Steve and Bucky embraced like brothers, the way they used to, which prompted Cassie to hug Steve excitedly, which started a cycle of the three of them exchanging hugs with each other for several minutes.

"I'll just, um, see myself out," Tony said awkwardly. He turned and walked back the way he had come, leaving the three of them to celebrate their hard won victory.


	23. Epilogue

"You wanted to see me?" Cassie asked, poking her head into the doorway of Director Coulson's office.

"I did indeed," Director Coulson replied. "Have a seat." He indicated the metal folding chair set up in front of his desk. Cassie sat.

"I have a new assignment for you," Director Coulson said, handing her a manilla file folder. She flipped it open and sorted through its contents. Inside were several photos of an imposing glass and metal building, as well as extensive profiles on people who were complete strangers to her, including, she saw, a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force and a man who had served two tours in Afghanistan with the Fifty-Eighth Pararescue Squadron. She raised a quizzical eyebrow at Director Coulson.

"That's the New Avengers facility," he explained, "and those are the New Avengers. Your assignment is to serve as the facility's resident psychologist and to assist the New Avengers with any psychological issues that they are currently dealing with or may be dealing with in the future." Cassie nodded, closing the file and setting it in her lap.

"You'd better hurry and get packed," Director Coulson added. "The Calvary is headed over there in half an hour, with or without you." Cassie nodded and stood to go. When she reached the door, Director Coulson called "Cassie?" She turned back towards him.

"Good luck," he said solemnly. She nodded and went to pack for her next assignment.


End file.
